Irena Kononova is a Russian born artist who presently resides in the Bay Area. She grew up in the family of an actor in St. Petersburg and attended Art High School. When still a teenager, she was working with the nonconformist art group "Alef". Ms. Kononova received an M.A. from St. Petersburg University, Russia. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1981. In 1987 Irena graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts where she was a recipient of a Cresson Traveling Scholarship and various prizes. 

During her years in Philadelphia, Irena had won a prestigious juried show at the Fleisher Art Memorial and was interviewed many times for major newspapers. She was featured in a dialog on Art in Exile on Fresh Air program on the National Public Radio. Ms. Kononova was a member of a Creative Artists Network in Philadelphia. 

Before moving to California, Ms. Kononova completed the cycle of monumental installed murals for the headquarters of GlaxoSmithKline, Inc. The artist combines large scale work with creating series of smaller intimate paintings. Karen Tsujimoto, Senior Curator of Art at Oakland Museum of California described Ms. Kononova “Rooms” series as “Wonderful…you initially get a feeling of such small work, but it seems bigger with a sense of infinity.” 

In 1997 The San Mateo Art Council presented Ms. Kononova’s work in one artist show. Irena’s participation in the juried shows in California was marked by number of awards. Ms. Kononova collaborates successfully with number of educational institutions. The 2005 College of the Sequoias show was covered by The Fresno Bee in an editorial article. The artist’s schedule for 2005-2006 includes solo exhibitions at Rogue Community College in Oregon, at UC Berkeley, and at Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest, CA.

Irena is a part of the artists’ colony in Hunters Point Shipyard in San Francisco where she is engaged in the yearly Open Studios events. She has exhibited her work in the United States and abroad, notably at Berman E.N., New York City, Zona Gallery in Amsterdam, American Artists Gallery in Santa Fe, San Diego Museum of Art, Coutts Art Museum, Domont Studio Gallery in Indianapolis, Anne Bradford Gallery in Healdsburg, and University of Minnesota.