Katherine Kadish was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She began attending Saturday art classes at the Carnegie Museum at age nine and later received her B.F.A. in painting and design from Carnegie Mellon University and her M.A. in art history from the University of Chicago.

Kadish has exhibited her work internationally in addition to having been awarded a number of prestigious fellowships and residencies. The artist lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and maintains her studio in the nearby village of Clifton and works regularly in New York City.