Irene Ferguson

Irene Ferguson (born 1970 in Hokitika, New Zealand) is an artist best known for her portrait paintings.

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.

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.

• 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.

• The New Zealand Portrait Gallery 2008 Adam Portraiture Award
• http://www.npg.org.uk/index.php?id=4403 BP Portrait Award 2006 - Exhibitor 12, 'No Title' by Irene Ferguson, oil on canvas, 1320 x 715mm (52 x 28 1/8").

• 1996 The Southland Art Foundation 'Artist in Residence' programme
• 2002 William Hodges Fellowship
• 2008 Artist in Residence at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, Wellington.

• 2002 Southland Art Foundation Artists in Residence
• Samuel Marsden Collegiate School previous Artists in Residence

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.

• Suite Gallery: Irene Ferguson. Retrieved 16 January 2016
• Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History : 'Torrid Grey' by Irene Ferguson
• Art New Zealand : Exhibitions Wellington : Aaron Lister
• Southland Museum and Art Gallery Artist in Residence programme
• Judges announce short-list for 2014 Parkin Drawing Award. Retrieved 16 January 2016
• Irene Ferguson, Lisa, Pencil on paper, 2nd Place, 2013 Biennale. Retrieved 16 January 2016
• Review by Jessica Scott, City Gallery Wellington, retrieved 16 January 2016
• BP Portrait Award 2006 - Exhibitor 12. Retrieved 16 January 2016

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

• The James Wallace Arts Trust : 'Dawn 5' by Irene Ferguson
• The James Wallace Arts Trust : 'Factory' by Irene Ferguson
• The New Zealand National Portrait Gallery : The Blue Girl (Johanna Sanders in her back yard) by Irene Ferguson

• 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.

• The Big Idea, 2 Apr 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2016
• Reviewed by Jessica Scott, City Gallery Wellington, retrieved 16 January 2016
• Art New Zealand Issue 108. Originally published in Art New Zealand 108 Spring 2003. Retrieved 19 Jan 2016
• Reviewed by Penny Hunt, Art New Zealand, Issue 109, 2003. Retrieved 16 January 2016