Zhen Guo was born in Rizhao, Shandong, China, and has become a prominent figure in the world of contemporary art. Her artistic education began at the Fine Arts Department of Shandong Art School, graduating in 1976, followed by her graduation from the China Academy of Art in 1982 where she later taught. Her journey brought her to the United States in 1986 to study at the San Francisco Art College and further expanded her horizon as a scholar at York University College of Art in Canada in 1987. In 1988, she established Zhen Guo Art Studio in New York, marking the beginning of her profound influence on international female ink art.
Zhen Guo’s early life and artistic development were deeply intertwined with the Cultural Revolution in China, which shaped both the content and the delivery of her early works. Despite facing significant challenges, including her father’s political troubles which limited her early education, Guo’s resilience led her to pursue art through self-education and formal schooling later on. Her experiences in China’s rural settings, learning sewing and working in a clothing factory, laid the foundational elements of her later works which heavily incorporate traditional Chinese textiles and patterns.