Roma Karas was born in Russia, where he began doing art at a very early age. It started out with using his Mom’s wedding ring as a sculptural installation mixed with clay and glue. He was grounded for two months, and afterwards Roma began to experiment with objects that were more simplistic and held less materialistic value, such as watercolors and black China ink.

At the age of ten Roma was commissioned to paint three paintings for the traveling show all across Eastern and Western Europe, called Soviart. After moving to the states, Roma has had many group and solo exhibitions primarily in the Midwest. He has won awards in National and International Art Competitions.

Roma has exhibited his work in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, “The New Yorker” magazine’s art gallery, Broome Gallery in SOHO, New York and many various group exhibitions in Brooklyn, New York. His paintings could be found in numerous private collections in the States, Western Europe and Japan.

Since receiving his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, Roma had moved to New York City to pursue his career as a painter, an illustrator and a limited edition book maker. Karas’ books have been commissioned by Brown University, University of Madison and Rhode Island School of Design Library.

Karas has created illustrations for magazines such as, the Progressive, Hadassah magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, New Yorker, New York Times, Sales and Marketing, Inc., and many more. A book with his illustrations, written by Lillian Moore and published by Candlewick Press, called “Mural on Second Avenue and other city poems”, will be released in spring of 2005.

His main influences in art are artists such as, Henrik Drescher, Andre François, Jean-Michel Folon, architecture of oblivion, as well as old staircases, the New York subway system, and all the wonderful little dark creatures that inhabit it.