Erdoğan Zümrütoğlu was born in 1970 in Konya. In 1996, he graduated from Dokuz Eylül University's Faculty of Fine Arts in Izmir. In 2001, his first solo exhibition, In Memory of Antonin Artaud, was held at the Izmir Art and Sculpture Museum.

Erdoğan Zümrütoğlu has presented his large-scale works in many group exhibitions, mainly in Istanbul and most recently at the 2010 Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair, via Pi Artworks Gallery, and at the show Ego Kırılmaları IV (Ego Busters IV) at C.A.M. Gallery (Istanbul 2011). He has staged numerous solo exhibitions, including Bir Şair Bir Ressam (A Poet A Painter) in One Cultural Centre (Istanbul 2002), Ben için Balballar (A Tombstone for Me) at the Artist-Istanbul Art Fair 2004, via Antik Art Gallery, Yer yüzü ayetleri (The Verses of Earth) at C.A.M. Gallery (Istanbul 2006), and his latest shows ya da I (or I) and ya da II (or II) at Pi Artworks Gallery (Istanbul 2009). Erdoğan Zümrütoğlu currently lives and works in Istanbul and also maintains a studio in Berlin.