Born in Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, Ukraine in 1968 to Bulgarian and French parents, Irene Vishnevskaya took to art from a very young age. Intrigued by paints her older brother had received as a gift when she was four years old, she nabbed the set for herself and spent the next few years doing little but paint. At only nine years old, Vishnevskaya began her formal training at the Belgorod Art School for gifted children, graduating at 15 with the honors of valedictorian bestowed upon her by both her junior high and her art school. Instead of attending high school, Vishnevskaya decided to enroll in the Grevoc College of Art in Odessa; in her first year there, she was awarded the title “Young Artist of the Year,” encouraging her to attend the Serov School of Fine Art in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1987. She graduated from Serov, again named valedictorian, in 1990, and was asked to remain in the school to teach before she entered the world-renowned Repin St. Petersburg Academic of Art in 1992. Unlike many artists entering the greater art work, Vishnevskaya was welcomed with great excitement and accompanied by acclaim.

Completing her studied there in 2000, her graduation artwork was accepted into the permanent collection of the Museum of Academy of Art and her work continues to be exhibited and collected in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Ukraine, Finland, and the United States.