George Nista

George Nista is a sculptor, designer, and teacher who maintained a studio in Philadelphia for about twenty-five years. He moved his studio to Wallingford CT in 2022. His company is called Nista Design. He taught in the Industrial Design Technology department of the Art Institute of Philadelphia for over twenty years, though over the years he has also taught at Drexel University, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Graduate School New York Academy of Figurative Art, the Wayne Art Center, and the Germantown Academy.

He enjoys teaching and finds it rewarding and instructive. He has always been involved in art, though not always the same medium! At one point or another, he has been painter, photographer, theatrical set designer, cinematographer, and model maker, but always sculptor. Nista Design allows him to pursue commissions in sculpture and design. He occasionally shows in galleries or through other means.

He has been represented by the Artists’ House in Philadelphia and by Riverbank Arts in Stockton, NJ. He received a B.A. from Catholic University of America. That was followed by an apprenticeship with an Austrian woodcarver, Berthold Schmutzhart. He traveled quite a bit after that, primarily in Europe.

Pratt Institute awarded the M.F.A., Southern Connecticut State College teaching credentials, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art their Certificate. It’s all auto-didactic from here on out.