Karsten Wittke was born in Wuppertal in 1958. From 1977 to 1978, he worked as a workshop intern as a machinist, carpenter, and technical draftsman in Schweinfurt, where he also completed his civilian service in the following years. From 1980 to 1996, he studied art at the University of the Arts in Berlin under Prof. Marwan. In 1989, he received the PS1 scholarship for a study stay in New York. Wittke lives and works in Baruth/Mark.