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. In 2002, Katherine resigned her management position and began her career in art at The Pennsylvania Academy 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. Upon graduation, Stanek was invited by notable Philadelphia Galleries to exhibit her bronze works with integrated concrete bases. Stanek's exploration with concrete as a sculpting medium has led to her development of proprietary cement formulas that suit her personal aesthetic and studio practice. 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 as she has been invited to exhibit her unique concrete sculptures in museums, galleries and sculpture gardens throughout the United States. Stanek is the recipient of the George and Helen Segal Foundation Grant and her unique creations have been featured in many publications including, the National Sculpture Society's "Sculpture Review". Most notable exhibitions include European Museum of Modern Art MEAM and Frederick Meijer Museum alongside Auguste Rodin in "Rodin and the Contemporary Figurative Tradition". In 2020, Stanek installed her largest commission to date for the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio.
"An American sculptor who makes innovative use of cement for a most satisfying process and most intriguing aesthetic impact..." Wolfgang Mabry, Sculpture Review Magazine, National Sculpture Society
"The work is dramatic, impressive in its mass and thought provoking, often uniting dramatic movement and steadfast immobility in the same piece..." Sal Emma, Envision Arts Magazine
" Katherine is able to make her work appear timeless...the viewer senses tension in her work. She takes the human form and presents it in an edgy way, using contemporary materials to cast large monuments with 21st century flavor" Bob Shryock Gloucester County Times, New Jersey