Nils Karsten is originally from Hamburg, Germany. He apprenticed as a cabinetmaker in Berlin before moving to New York in 1995 and receiving his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 1999. In 2002, he participated in the Skowhegan program, and in 2003, received his MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Since then, he has been a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts' fine arts department in New York, teaching drawing and painting.

His work has been shown in galleries and museums throughout the US and internationally; including Pearl Lam Galleries in Hong Kong, the Pera Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, the Museum of Fine Art in Split, The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas, The Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, The Hunter Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee and in New York, Marvelli Gallery, Ubu Gallery, Churner and Churner, and The Museum of Arts and Design.

His work can be found in numerous private collections and public collections, including the Brooklyn Museum in New York, The Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, The Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro, NC, and the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts in Taipei, Taiwan.
He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.