Painter Zoya Pilipenko was born in Kharkov, Ukraine. She studied in Kharkov at the I. Repin School of Fine Arts (1963 – 1970) before continuing her studies at the Kharkov State Academy of Arts (1983 – 1987).

She is a professor of art at the Kharkov Art College. She has presented her work in solo and group exhibitions in Ukraine and Greece (Athens, Chania, Rethymnon, Heraklion, Lamia, etc.). In 2000, she was admitted at the Union of Artists of Ukraine.