Nils Karsten – Artist, Brooklyn, New York

Ausbruch der Doofen – Installation view · Under Construction, The Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC, 2019, by Nils Karsten — Ausbruch der DoofenInstallation view · Under Construction, The Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC, 2019

Vertrauensfrage – Graphite drawing and collage · 14 x 11 in (35.6 x 27.9 cm) · 2024, by Nils Karsten — VertrauensfrageGraphite drawing and collage · 14 x 11 in (35.6 x 27.9 cm) · 2024

Ausweichmanöver – Graphite drawing and collage · 14 x 11 in (35.6 x 27.9 cm) · 2024, by Nils Karsten — AusweichmanöverGraphite drawing and collage · 14 x 11 in (35.6 x 27.9 cm) · 2024

I don’t start with ideas. I start with attention. Ideas come later.

Nils Karsten pulling the Hüsker Dü Land Speed Record print from the woodblock in his studio — Printing Hüsker Dü – Land Speed RecordIn the studio · 2021

Carving History

Images carried through time, carved into wood, and brought into the present.

Holidays in the Sun – Oil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2026, by Nils Karsten — Holidays in the SunOil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2026

Uwe Barschel – Oil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2026, by Nils Karsten — Uwe BarschelOil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2026

Family – Oil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2024, by Nils Karsten — FamilyOil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2024

Rage – Oil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2013, by Nils Karsten — RageOil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2013

Motörhead – Oil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2025, by Nils Karsten — MotörheadOil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2025

Tankman – Oil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2023, by Nils Karsten — TankmanOil-based printing ink on paper · 66 x 66 in (168 x 168 cm) · 2023

Into the landscape

From carved block to impression. From the studio into the sand.

Holbein Skeleton – Carved woodblock, oil on wood · 30 x 13 in (76.2 x 33.0 cm) · 2021 · Wadden Sea, by Nils Karsten — Holbein SkeletonCarved woodblock, oil on wood · 30 x 13 in (76.2 x 33.0 cm) · 2021 · Wadden Sea

Three Times – Sand and carved woodblock, temporary impressions made in the Wadden Sea, northern Germany · approx. 32 x 64 in (approx. 81 x 163 cm) · 2021, by Nils Karsten — Three TimesSand and carved woodblock, temporary impressions made in the Wadden Sea, northern Germany · approx. 32 x 64 in (approx. 81 x 163 cm) · 2021

Pencil

One image leads to another.

My Life, Lite – Pencil on paper · 14 x 11 in (35.6 x 27.9 cm) · 2026, by Nils Karsten — My Life, LitePencil on paper · 14 x 11 in (35.6 x 27.9 cm) · 2026

Heaven – Pencil on paper · 14 x 11 in (35.6 x 27.9 cm) · 2006, by Nils Karsten — HeavenPencil on paper · 14 x 11 in (35.6 x 27.9 cm) · 2006

Batman's Future (Pregnant) – Pencil on paper · 12 x 9 in (30.5 x 22.9 cm) · 1998, by Nils Karsten — Batman's Future (Pregnant)Pencil on paper · 12 x 9 in (30.5 x 22.9 cm) · 1998

On the wall

Cutting Room – Installation view · Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong, 2015, by Nils Karsten — Cutting RoomInstallation view · Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong, 2015

Out of Nowhere – Installation view · Ubu Gallery, New York, 2025, by Nils Karsten — Out of NowhereInstallation view · Ubu Gallery, New York, 2025

2026The World Is The Work, benefit auction and exhibition, The Drawing Center, New York, NY
2026DRAW: Language of the Hand / Broken Links, Blue Galleries, Boise State University, Boise, ID — participating artist; co-curator of Broken Links
2026still utopia: broken links, curated by Aga Ousseinov, Simonetta Moro, Brian Novatny, Nils Karsten, Held Line Space with Gallery MC, New York, NY
2025Nils Karsten – Out of Nowhere, Ubu Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

All exhibitions

Nils Karsten: Out of Nowhere – the book

Publication

Out of Nowhere

Silence Taking Shape – 25 years of work, published by Snap Collective.