The years of his study (1895-1998) was held in Saratov, which at that time experienced an extraordinary rise of artistic life. In the Bogolyubov drawing school Karev entered the circle of talented youth, where he met P. V. Kuznetsov, A. Matveev, P. S. Utkin. For saratovtsev very significant was the influence of V. E. Borisov-Musatov, who Karev owe my understanding of the fundamentals of painting and painting culture. After further study in Penza (1898-1901) at the K. A. Savitsky, and in private art school in Kiev (1901-1902) Karev in 1903-m is coming to St. Petersburg, where over the next four years working in a friendly Free workshop.
Creativity of the artist-teacher A. E. Karev is a bright page in the history of art of Leningrad 1920-30-ies.
The years of his study (1895-98) were held in Saratov, which at that time experienced an extraordinary rise of artistic life. In the Bogolyubov drawing school Karev entered the circle of talented youth, where he met P. V. Kuznetsov, A. Matveev, P. S. Utkin.
For saratovtsev very significant was the influence the elder, the wise artist V. E. Borisov-Musatov, who Karev owe my understanding of the fundamentals of painting and painting culture.
After further study in Penza (1898 - 1901) by K. A. Savitsky, and in private art school in Kiev (1901-02) Karev in 1903, arrives in St. Petersburg, where over the next four years working in a friendly Free workshop in conjunction with the A. T. Matveev, S. V. Chekhonin, P. F. Smarick.
He participated in exhibitions of "Crown", Salon "the Golden fleece", "World of art" (1911). Early creative pursuits Karev associated with impressionism, symbolism Borisov-Musatov, the activities of associations "Blue rose", "World of art". A member of the latter he became in 1917 a Lot of time he devoted to the Museum classroom, understanding of the classics.
In the still lifes of the 1910s all the quest was reflected in a complex combination. Karev-impressionist understand color as light. Karev has-symbolist subjects of still lifes full of hidden meaning and have an objective existence, but their composition remains a classic. Echoes of the creativity of the "Blue rose" can be found all over the artistic heritage Karev.
Since the mid-1910s, the artist turns to landscape. Most of his landscape works dedicated to the city on the Neva. In the genre of the urban landscape Karev found a special creative "I" with which he entered the history of painting.
The love of St. Petersburg close to the masters "World of art", but if those primarily occupied the city's history, psychological drama, hidden behind its majestic buildings, streets, squares, for Karev, walking in the ways of identifying the essence of the objects depicted in still life and landscape, past, present and future gathered into a coherent picture the image of a city motif.
Karev has created a poetic and monumental image of the city, and he achieved this not by spectacular species plots or schematic simplification of form, and due to the internal lyrical reflection on the harsh urban space. Often, the artist chose an elevated point of view on the image objects used only pure colors without mixing them on the palette. He usually worked on the product, ensuring the most accurate interaction patches of color, true color sound.
Among the best landscapes created Karev, "Urban landscape. Vasilievsky island", "Demonstration of the plant" (both 1926), "Urban landscape. Andreevskiy market" (1927), Neva (1934). In the 1920s, Karev was a member of the artistic Association "Four arts". The last two decades of his life he gave many efforts to teaching: in Saratov (1920-21), then in Petrograd in art and technical studios (former CUTR), and from 1922 in the higher art - IZHSA, and also in art school (1936-37).