Ferguson gained a Diploma of Fine Arts with Honors from Otago School of Fine Art, Dunedin in 1993 and a Master of Fine Arts from the New York Academy of Art in 2005. From 2005-2006 Irene lived and worked in New York City. In 2010 she traveled to Italy to complete training in portraiture at the Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, Italy.
Fellowships and residencies
In 2002 Ferguson was awarded the William Hodges Fellowship residency by the Southland Art Foundation. In 2008 Ferguson was the Artist in Residence at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, Wellington.
Awards
In 2008 Ferguson won the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Adam Portraiture Award with The Blue Girl, Johanna Sanders in her Back Yard.
In 2006 she was a finalist in the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Artist Residencies
1996 The Southland Art Foundation 'Artist in Residence' programme
2002 William Hodges Fellowship
2008 Artist in Residence at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, Wellington.
Solo
2012 Colossal, {Suite} Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
2011 Torrid Grey, Aratoi - Wairarapa Museum of Art & History, Masterton, New Zealand
2010 Pine, {Suite} Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
2008 Wayward, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
2003 sample; flesh and blood, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
2003 sample; flesh and blood, Southland Museum and Art Gallery, Invercargill, New Zealand
Group
2013-14 The Parkin Drawing Prize
2013 Runner up, The 7th International Drawing Biennale, The Polish Art Foundation, Melbourne, Australia
2008 Strive Towards Your Destiny, group show, Hirschfeld Gallery, Wellington
2006 BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London.
Work in Collections
Ferguson's work is predominately held within New Zealand collections.
James Wallace Art Trust, Auckland, New Zealand
The New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
Southland Art Foundation, Invercargill, New Zealand
Southland Museum and Art Gallery, Invercargill, New Zealand
Reviews / Writing
2010 Mark Amery reviews portraiture from the Adam Portrait Award show.
2008 Strive Towards Your Destiny, group show, Hirschfeld Gallery, Wellington. Review by Jessica Scott, City Gallery Wellington.
2003 "sample; flesh and blood", Jane Land Gallery, Wellington. Reviewed in Art New Zealand, 2003.
2003 Music and Braille, Peter Rae Gallery, Dunedin. Reviewed by Penny Hunt, Art New Zealand, Issue 109, 2003.
