REYKJAVÍK.- i8 Gallery announced that Geneva Viralam has joined the gallery as director. Geneva, who is based in New York, brings twelve years of experience in the contemporary art world. Prior to this role, Geneva was senior director of Luhring Augustine and associate director of Yvon Lambert, working closely with an international roster of artists in both galleries. She has a master’s degree in art history with a focus in critical and curatorial studies from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in art history and French from Emory University.
Geneva says, “I am incredibly excited to begin the next chapter of my career at i8 Gallery. Over the past nine years, I have been a close colleague of Börkur and the staff at i8 through my work with Ragnar Kjartansson. It feels particularly fortunate to join the gallery given our long history, and I have always greatly admired i8’s program. I am looking forward to being a part of the gallery, working with the incredible roster of artists, and continuing to expand i8’s international presence.”
“It is wonderful to have Geneva joining us and to be able to build on what is already a highly valued and constructive relationship. With her experience and unique perspective, Geneva will be instrumental in the gallery’s continued efforts to find creative and significant ways to support and present our artists’ work. New York has long been a second home for us and we could not be happier to welcome Geneva to i8,” says Börkur Arnarson, owner and director of i8 Gallery.
Over its twenty-five year history, i8 Gallery has fostered an influential group of artists from its Reykjavík base. The foundation of i8 Gallery is the conceptual rigor and intellectual spirit of its artists’ practices, which subtly unites the diverse roster. The twenty-three artists of the gallery work in a variety of mediums, including sculpture, painting, drawing, video, textile, installation, and performance.
i8 Gallery, founded in 1995 by Edda Jónsdóttir and her son Börkur Arnarson, draws its name from its original address at Ingólfstræti 8. The gallery moved to its current location near Reykjavík Harbor in 2010, across from the Reykjavík Art Museum. In 2017 the gallery was instrumental in the opening of the Marshall House, a nearby cultural center located in a renovated factory building from 1948. The Marshall House is home to Studio Ólafur Elíasson, which i8 oversees as a satellite studio and experimental space for the artist that is open to the public.
