Karl Oskar Blase was born in 1925 in Cologne, Germany. He was a prolific painter, designer, sculptor and exhibition curator. His work included magazine covers, for publications such as Form and Gebrauchsgraphik, stamp designs for the German Postal Service and film posters for companies such as Atlas Films.
Blase studied applied art in the Staatliche Werkkunestschule in Wuppertal from 1945 to 1949 and established the agency müller-blase with Felix Müller in 1950. In 1958, he was appointed as instructor of applied arts at the Staatliche Werkkunestschule in Kassel.
His work had been exhibited across the world including the Milan Triennial, 1954, 1957 and 1960, at the World Design Conference, Tokyo 1960, the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and the University of California.
