Mikhail Karasik is one of the most active and committed followers of the genre of artist’s books in Russia. Mikhail Karasik was born in Leningrad in 1953. Lives and works in St. Petersburg. His media are easel and book graphics, posters and objects. He joined the Russian Artists’ Union in 1988, and the International Gutenberg Society, Germany, in 1993. Mikhail Karasik has displayed his art at numerous national and international exhibitions since 1978, but has fully dedicated himself to artist’s books since 1987. Having provided an interface between early 20th century futurist publications and experimental publishing projects in the 1980s, Mikhail Karasik’s books are sought after by both private collectors and museums. Private publishing had been banned in Russia since the late 1920s, resulting in many decades of hiatus in artist’s book publishing and all experimentation in book form. Karasik’s favorite technique is lithography, but he also employs photography, collage and serigraphy. His main subjects are Russian literary avant-garde from the 1910s through the 1920s, episodes from the Bible, oriental and, specifically, Central Asian motifs, and modern Russian poetry. The artist frequently uses his own textual material which is, in fact, highly appropriate for the genre of artist’s books, where everything – the text, lithographic printing, binding and covers – is usually the author’s creation. To date Mikhail Karasik has published more than 50 books, albums and book objects. SOLO EXHIBITIONS: 1990 Dostoyevsky Museum, Leningrad 1992 Union Gallery, Moscow 1993 Central House of Artists, Moscow 1993 Gutenberg-Museum, Mainz 1994 Cabinet des estampes du Musée d’art et d’histoire, Genève 1995 Anna Akhmatova Museum in the Fountain House, St Petersburg 1995 Yaroslavl Art Museum, Yaroslavl 1996 Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam 1997 The Scientific Library of the Hermitage, St Petersburg 1998 Sächsische Landesbibliothek. Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden 1998 The Art Institute of Chicago. The Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, Chicago 1999 Galerie Christoph Dürr, München 2001 Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts Moscow, Russia Works by Mikhail Karasik are in the following collections: Russia Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow State Museum of the Art of Oriental Peoples, Moscow Book Museum of the Russian State Library, Moscow Russian State Library, Moscow Central Scientific Theatre Library, Moscow State Russian Museum, St Petersburg State Museum of the History of St Petersburg, St Petersburg Anna Akhmatova Museum in the Fountain House, St Petersburg Russian National Library, St Petersburg France Musée National d’Art Moderne / Centre Pompidou, Paris Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris Centre du Livre d’Artiste Pays-Paysage, St-Yrieix-la-Perche Germany Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, München Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum der Deutschen Bücherei. Die Deutsche Bibliothek, Leipzig Deutsches Spielkarten-Museum, Leinfelden-Echterdingen Gutenberg-Museum, Mainz Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, Leipzig Klingspor-Museum der Stadt Offenbach. Internationale moderne Buch- und Schriftkunst, Offenbach am Main Kupferstich-Kabinett. Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden Kunstbibliothek der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, Berlin Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg Sächsische Landesbibliothek. Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden, Dresden Slavisches Institut der Universittt zu Köln, Köln Great Britain Victoria and Albert Museum, London British Library, London Tate Gallery Library, London Israel National Jewish Library, Jerusalem Switzerland Cabinet des estampes du Musée d’art et d’histoire, Genève usa The Art Institute of Chicago. The Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, Chicago New York Public Library, New York Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York