George Nista is a sculptor and art instructor in Philadelphia. He grew up in Hamden, Conn. He completed a B.A. at Catholic University of America in 1971 and an M.F.A. at Pratt Institute in 1979. He later attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine art and earned a Certificate in 1998, winning the Ward Traveling Fellowship, the Stewartson Prize, and several others. He currently teaches in the Sculpture Department at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and in the Industrial Design Department of the Art Institute of Philadelphia.

George has traveled thorough much of Europe and has been to Italy several times. His major influences are Italian Renaissance and Baroque sculptors, especially Michelangelo and Bernini. His sculpture and drawings are mainly of the human figure and he works from live models (most of whom are professional dancers.)

The human figure is to me the richest subject for the artist. Its potential for expression and complexity seems to me an inexhaustible subject for art. Grace, poise, the flowing line--these mark the elegant human body. Somehow, I think, the means to express the highest human values lies therein. This is the goal. The pleasure is in the pursuit.