In 1937, she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. She studied painting under Felicjan Kowarski and weaving under Eleonora Plutyńska and Lucjan Kintopf. The artist's tapestry received a gold medal at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris (Exposition International Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne). In the same year, the artist went to Brazil, in the state of Paraná, to teach handicrafts to Polish emigrants. There she met Konrad Sadowski, her future husband, who had been in Brazil for eight years doing sports education among Polish emigrants.

The Sadowski family returned to Poland, and after the outbreak of war managed to leave via Hungary for Paris, where Sadowska undertook her studies at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere. After the defeat of France, the Sadowski family reached England via Algiers in September 1940. Krystyna enrolled at the Central School of Arts and Crafts with Nora Billington, where Konrad also, after demobilisation, began courses in ceramics. Sadowska illustrated the album edition of "13 Polish legends", which came out in Great Britain, dedicated to the children of the Duke of Kent, with an introduction by Jan Effenberger-Śliwiśki ("Tygodnik Polski", 1946).

In 1947, the Sadowski family left for Brazil and opened a ceramic studio there. In the same year, Sadowska's tapestry received a silver medal at the 52nd National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro, and at the International Textile Exhibition in Greensboro/USA in 1949, the artist won second prize. At the end of 1949 they travelled to Canada, invited by the Governor of Nova Scotia and were given a ceramic studio in Halifax. They both participated in the first exhibition of Polish immigrant artists in Canada -Exhibition of Polish Artists in Exile Residing in Canada, held in 1950 at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

In 1953, the Sadowskis moved to Toronto and taught ceramics at the Ontario College of Art from 1956 to 1960. Krystyna Sadowska participated in numerous Polish-Canadian and international exhibitions, winning many awards. In 1953, her tapestry received the Grand Prix at the 1st International Exhibition of Canadian Weaving in London/Ontario, and her work was featured in the magazine Canadian Art (1954), among others. The Sadowskis also participated in an exhibition at McGill University's Redpath Museum and in the Canadian Ceramics Exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum, where Sadowska won the Grand Prize for her mosaic 'Woman with Two Heads'.

In January 1960, Krystyna showed her batiks at the Ontario College of Art, and in December the Willistead Art Gallery in Windsor mounted a major exhibition of their work. This was their last exhibition together - Konrad Sadowski died in 1960. After his death, Krystyna Sadowska won further awards, including the Grand Prix for tapestry and batik at the Canadian Handicraft Guild in Montreal and honourable mentions at international exhibitions in Lausanne ('The Musicians' in the Great Tapestries album) and New York (Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation award in 1965).

After the death of her husband, the artist focused on sculpture. Her work was characterised by the abandonment of the monolith in favour of linear and two-dimensional forms, with influences from cubism and collage. She used the technique of welding various metals with glass, carrying out public commissions: 'Rhythm of Exotic Plants' mural at Toronto Metro, 'Mermaid' for the Royal Bank, 'Christ of Burnt Cities' sculpture at Jesuit College, 'Pan and Three Graces' mural at Calgary House and 'Hommage to the Legendary and Modern Woman' bas-relief at the Government of Ontario Art Collection.

Together with her second husband, Stefan Siwiński, a furniture designer, Sadowska carried out commissions for institutions. In 1976, Windsor Gallery held a retrospective exhibition of her work, and the catalogue highlighted her immense contribution to the visual arts in Canada. Unfortunately, the bankruptcy of Siwiński's company in the mid-1980s halted further development of their work. Krystyna Sadowska's last exhibition was her participation in the 'We are' exhibition at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw (1992/1993).

Krystyna Sadowska left behind works filled with an atmosphere of playfulness and erotic fantasies inspired by Greek mythology - her art featured nymphs, satyrs and musical groups of fairytale characters. Later, she focused on monumental sculptures and murals in stainless steel, coloured and combined with glass, creating original forms combining the figurative with the abstract. She was a member of many art organisations, including: Artists' Co-operative Ład, International Artists' Association (England), Ontario Society of Artists, Sindicato Dos Artistas Plasticos de Sao Paulo and The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in London. Her work is included in many Canadian public collections: Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, University of Waterloo, City of Toronto, Jesuit Seminary, Canada House in Calgary.

Work in catalogue
Krystyna Sadowska, 'Rhythm of Exotic Plants', 1965, mural, adorns an underground wall at the Finch underground station in Toronto. It was given to the underground as a gift by Rio Algom Ltd. The individual steel planes are joined together to form a long series of flattened, elongated rectangles. Each of the figures that make up this flat ribbon, is decorated differently, varying in size and finishing detail. Starting from the figurative, the artist has succeeded in creating an abstract form in the work. The metal surfaces are a clear symbol, far from being literal, of marine or exotic vegetation.