Changing Cultures: Zhen Guo, A Retrospective
Love, Kindness, Passion, Desire, 2020, fabrics and mixed media, 98.5” x 236” x 10”
March 12 – June 11, 2026
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The Mishkin Gallery at Baruch College is proud to present Changing Cultures: Zhen Guo, A Retrospective, the first major New York survey of artist Zhen Guo (b. 1955, Shandong Province, China).
The works on display span nearly sixty years, from Zhen Guo’s first embroidery (Chairman Mao, 1966) to her large-scale papier-mâché and sewn fabric breast sculptures and handmade tufted tapestries of 2012-2025. The show explores an artist’s journey from China to New York; themes include an immigrant’s identity, motherhood, and the violence embedded in patriarchal cultures. Guo’s large-scale “muted landscape” paintings protest environmental injustice. The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated brochure with a new essay on Guo by curator Gail Levin.
Zhen Guo’s education was cut short by the Chinese Cultural Revolution at age twelve, when she was assigned to work in a clothing factory. She later studied, then taught, at Zhejiang Academy in Hangzhou, and immigrated to the United States in 1986. Recent solo exhibitions include “Zhen Guo: Embracing Kali” at Ethan Cohen Gallery, NY (2026), “Unfolding her Life” at Bard College (2024), and “What is My Name” at Connecticut College (2023). Guo has organized numerous exhibitions of feminist art and is the founder and president of the Chinese Feminist Art Alliance, NY. She lives and works in New York, NY.
Changing Cultures: Zhen Guo, A Retrospective, is curated by Gail Levin, Distinguished Professor in Fine & Performing Arts at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. Guo’s retrospective follows Dr. Levin’s eponymous exhibition Changing Cultures: Immigrant Artists from China, 1991, on Chinese immigrant artists navigating worlds to express evolving identities. Levin’s most recent project is a biography of American artist Alice Baber, published in February 2026 by Pegasus Press. This exhibition is made possible by the Edith B. Stein Symposium Fund, Friends of the Mishkin Gallery, and the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College (CUNY).
An opening reception will be held for the artist on Thursday, March 12 from 4 – 6 pm.
The Mishkin Gallery is located at 135 E. 22nd Street, NY. Gallery hours are M-F, 11 am – 6 pm and by appointment. For further information contact Marisa Malone at mishkingallery@baruch.cuny.edu or (646) 660 6653.
Image: Zhen Guo, Love, Kindness, Passion, Desire, 2020, fabrics and mixed media, 98.5″ x 236″ x 10″ (detail). Image courtesy the artist.
Booklet
Public Programs
Opening reception
Thursday, March 12 from 4–6pm
Talk between curator Gail Levin and artist Zhen Guo with special guest Ethan Cohen
Tuesday, March 31, 11:15am–12:15pm
Zhen Guo Video Works, 2011-2022
Thursday, May 7th, 5:30–6:30pm
A 50-minute program screening original video works consisting of: Zhen Guo, Timeline of Movement, 2011 (5:44); New Moon, 2018 (7:24); Muted Landscapes, 2022 (7:36); and the documentary short film by Mia Chen on Zhen Guo, My Heart is Red, 2022 (24:22)
Women Artists, Curators and Activists: A Conversation with Susan Bee, Lori Horowitz, Zhen Guo, Susan Grabel, and Christina Schlesinger
Thursday, May 21st, 5:30–6:30pm
Closing Reception
Thursday, June 11th, 4–6pm
Images
Changing Cultures: Zhen Guo, A Retrospective, installation view, photos by Daniel Jacobson.
