Although Krystyna Sadowska was one of the most versatile artists, known for her excellent works in tapestry, batik, ceramics, collage, painting and drawing, she gained her greatest popularity in Canada as an artist specialising in welded spatial sculptures, for which she used steel and bronze as material.

She was born in 1912 in Lublin. After graduating from high school in 1930, she began four years of studies in painting, weaving, ceramics and lithography at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts (from 1932 the Academy of Fine Arts). In 1937, she was sent by the Polish government to Brazil, in the state of Paraná, where she taught handicrafts to Polish emigrants. There she met Konrad Sadowski, who taught physics to the children of Polish emigrants. Two years later, the young couple married, swearing their love and fidelity to each other. Just before the outbreak of the Second World War, they returned to Poland. Not for long, however, as soon after the Germans and Soviets entered Poland, they escaped and made their way to Paris via Hungary.

In 1940, Krystyna Sadowska continued her studies in painting at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. After the Nazi army entered France, she and her husband left for Algeria and then, in September 1940, for London, where she took up studies in pottery at the Central School of Art and Craft. After graduating from this school, she travelled with her husband to the state of Paraná in Brazil, where they opened an art studio.

At an exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, her tapestry, entitled Dream of Canada, was recognised by a Canadian delegation from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Krystyna and Roman Sadowski were invited to Canada, took up the invitation and emigrated in 1949. They settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they set up a pottery studio. In 1953 they moved to Toronto where, until Konrad Sadowski's death in 1960, they taught ceramic sculpture to future artists at the Ontario College of Art.

In Toronto, although Sadowska was already known internationally as a tapestry maker, among other things, the artist became famous as one of the few sculptors working in metal. Her monumental sculptures in welded stainless steel, chrome, bronze or painted metal brought her popularity and fame. They have decorated many streets in Canadian cities. The largest number appeared in Toronto.

At the end of the 1960s, the sculptor remarried the furniture designer and maker Stefan Siwiński.

In 1977, her first retrospective exhibition took place at the Art Gallery of Windsor. Then Windsor Star journalist Marta Gervais wrote:

"The steel sculpture of a decapitated, twisted and tortured Christ, who is catching air with one hand, is larger than the small woman who stands below this sculpture. This woman is the artist Krystyna Sadowska, and the figure of Christ is her preserved memory of a Poland that suffered bombing during World War II. She vividly remembers 1939 because she fled her country in fear of being sent to Siberia. During her escape in the snow to Hungary, she carried with her an image of a burnt, broken crucifix that had been abandoned in a deserted church. In 1963, she formed this sculpture out of steel and entitled it Song of Burnt Cities. This piece of metal represents her art more than the other works shown in the first retrospective exhibition at the Art Gallery of Windsor. Christine's modesty, her gentleness, her absolute honesty and sincerity and her interest in oppressed people all appear in this broken figure of Christ, who ironically refuses to die on the cross. For her, the pursuing hand is a desire for expression and creativity free from the pressure of dictators, for which she risked her life on the run. It is astonishing that this wish of hers has blossomed in various media. Today's exhibition is the first in her 40-year career to simultaneously showcase the broad spectrum of her work. There are not only steel sculptures, but drawings and sketches, collage and batiks as well as paintings. Freedom of expression appears not only in the choice of more than one medium. The objects created by Christine have a free spirit, dreaming mermaids, iridescent spirits, devils, as well as several classical gods from mythology, who are often depicted in erotic dances."

In turn, Ted Fraser, curator of the Windsor Art Gallery, commented on Krystyna Sadowska's work as follows: "The artist's use of bronze in this work is unique in that she has used the texture of the metal rather than its natural patina. The marble surroundings may have inspired the fossilised articulation of the surface of her relief panel, which was achieved using a welding torch. In all the media she worked with, Christine sought to express universal love and unity. Her works are larger than life and contain signs and symbols common to many cultures past and present."

Krystyna Sadowska died in 1994 in Toronto. She was a member of many renowned societies: the Ontario Society of Artists, Canada; the International Artists Association, Hampstead Artists' Council, Central Institute of Arts and Design, The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, UK; the Sindicato Dos Artistas Plásticos de Sao Paulo, Brazil.

She has been awarded numerous prizes at a wide variety of international exhibitions, and was awarded the prestigious Jurzykowski Prize in New York for her lifetime achievement as an artist.