Born in Moravia, Zemánková came of age during the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the birth of an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918. This era fostered a fervent patriotism, marked by a devotion to preserving cultural traditions such as folk costumes, songs, fairy tales, and ornamental drawings. These influences ignited Zemánková’s early passion for painting. Though gifted in depicting colorful, realistic landscapes, her parents discouraged her from attending art school, redirecting her toward dentistry. Amid the turmoil of political and social upheaval, Zemánková followed a conventional path: marriage, motherhood, and grandmotherhood—roles that temporarily eclipsed her artistic ambitions.

Zemánková’s artistic rebirth began in the late 1950s, when her sons Slavomír and Bohumil discovered a forgotten suitcase filled with her early paintings in the family basement. Recognizing the vitality of these works, they encouraged her to resume painting. In the quiet hours before dawn, she would rise in her Prague apartment, surrounded by real and artificial flowers, and listen to the classical music of Beethoven and Janáček or the jazzy blues of Charles Lloyd. These solitary sessions became her sanctuary: with paper as her stage, she conjured a universe of pulsating tendrils and coiled organic forms.

Zemánková’s work has been featured in international solo and group exhibitions since 1971, preceding appearances at the Venice Biennale (2013 and 2024). Among her most significant exhibitions are Outsiders at London’s Hayward Gallery (1980) and the São Paulo Art Biennial (1981). Posthumous retrospectives include the High Museum of Art, Atlanta (1997); Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava (2007); Museum Montanelli, Prague (2011); Saarland Gallery and European Art Forum, Berlin (2011); Hyōgo Prefectural Museum and Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art (2012); and Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne (2017). Her work resides in leading public collections such as the American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY; Arnulf Rainer Museum, Baden; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Collection abcd, Paris; LAM, Musée d’art Moderne, d’art Contemporain et d’art Brut de Lille Métropole, Villeneuve-d'Ascq; Milwaukee Art Museum, WI; Musée National d’Art Moderne (Pompidou), Paris, France; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM; The Museum of Everything, London; and Mumok Museum in Vienna.