Biography

Katherine Stanek was born in Oak Park, Illinois and lived in the Chicago area until her early twenties. Pursuing work and education, Stanek relocated to Philadelphia where she held a full time corporate management position while attending classes part time at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Disenchanted with the corporate culture, Katherine resigned her management position and began her art career in 2002 at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts receiving a 4-year merit scholarship for her studies. Stanek was introduced to the traditional sculptural process during her first year at the Pennsylvania Academy and later received several awards in both sculpture and draftsmanship including the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy Fellowship Trust Award for her body of work. Immediately upon graduation, Stanek exhibited several bronze works with integrated concrete bases. Intrigued by the versatility of the concrete, she began to explore the medium further. After years of self study Stanek began to develop her own mixtures and formulas enabling her to manipulate the material in a way that works with her personal aesthetic and is uniquely her own. The result is a sculptural image that reflects the energy of the entire process and the changing characteristics of the material. This marriage of content and craft has gained the attention of collectors and artists alike. Katherine Stanek is the recipient of the 2010 George and Helen Segal Foundation Grant and has been invited to exhibit her unique concrete sculptures in galleries and sculpture gardens throughout the northeastern United States. Having traveled to Turkey to share her tools and techniques with an international audience, Stanek is now a sought after instructor for modeling and casting in cement.