Clarissa Dalrymple (born 1940/1941) is an independent art curator who lives in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

. Dalrymple is credited with having curated early exhibitions of contemporary artists in the United States including

Christopher Wool Christopher Wool (born 1955) is an American artist. Since the 1980s, Wool's art has incorporated issues surrounding post-conceptual ideas. He lives and works in New York City and Marfa, Texas, together with his wife and fellow painter Charline v ...

, Ashley Bickerton, Collier Schorr, Haim Steinbach,

Nayland Blake Nayland is a village and former civil parish in the Stour Valley on the Suffolk side of the border between Suffolk and Essex in England. In 2011 the built-up area had a population of 938. In 1881 the civil parish had a population of 901. Hi ...

, Michael Joaquin Grey, Jorge Pardo, Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, Gary Hume,

Rachel Whiteread Dame Rachel Whiteread (born 20 April 1963) is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993. Whiteread was one of the Young British Ar ...

Neo Rauch Neo Rauch (born 18 April 1960, in Leipzig, East Germany; ) is a German artist whose paintings mine the intersection of his personal history with the politics of industrial alienation. His work reflects the influence of socialist realism, and owes ...

, Adam McEwen,

Nate Lowman Nate Lowman (born 1979 in Las Vegas Valley) is an American artist working in the genre of pop art. He grew up in Idyllwild–Pine Cove, California, Idyllwild, CA where he graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy. He received his Bachelor of Science d ...

and Ryan Sullivan. The New York Times has described Dalrymple as being known for "an almost psychic ability to pinpoint who and what in art will matter next".Linda Yablonsky
"Eye Spy"
''The New York Times'', August 26, 2007

Early life

She was born Clarissa Ainley to Henry "Sam" Ainley, a merchant seaman, journalist and restaurateur, and Angela Jeans, an actress and model, and they divorced when she was young. They lived in

Walberswick Walberswick is a village and civil parish on the Suffolk coast in England. It is at the mouth of the River Blyth on the south side of the river. The town of Southwold lies to the north of the river and is the nearest town to Walberswick, around ...

, Suffolk, England. Her grandfather was the playwright Ronald Jeans, "a lesser Noel Coward" in her words.

Early career (1983-1991)

Cable Gallery

In 1983, Clarissa Dalrymple and Nicole Klagsbrun opened Cable Gallery in New York City. Cable Gallery was the site of early solo exhibitions of Ashley Bickerton, Steve DiBenedetto, Collier Schorr, Haim Steinbach, Phillipe Thomas,

, Tyler Turkle and others. In 1986, Dalrymple and Klagsbrun invited artist Robert Gober to curate an exhibition at the gallery, Gober's first curatorial project. Cable Gallery closed in 1988. Its brief lifespan was included by Jerry Saltz as one of the events comprising The New York Canon of Art from the forty-year period between 1968-2008.

Petersburg Gallery

From 1989 to 1991, Dalrymple formed a program of emerging artists for the Petersburg Gallery in New York. During this time, Dalrymple organized solo shows of Nayland Blake, David Dupuis, Michael Joaquin Gray, David Knudsvig, David Nelson, Jorge Pardo, Rene Ricard, and Billy Sullivan. Dalrymple also organized the debut solo exhibition of

Matthew Barney Matthew Barney (born March 25, 1967) is an American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography and drawing. His works explore connections among geography, biology, geology and mythology as well ...

, which was scheduled to open at the Petersburg Gallery in 1991. However, two weeks before the show's opening, Petersburg Gallery's owners closed its doors. The exhibition was instead presented at

Barbara Gladstone Barbara Gladstone ( Levitt) is an American art dealer and film producer. She is owner of Gladstone Gallery, a contemporary art gallery with locations in New York and Brussels. Gladstone Gallery History In 1980, Gladstone gave up teaching art hist ...

's gallery, who had invited Dalrymple to work with her on projects with younger artists. Barney continues to be represented by Gladstone Gallery.

Young British Artists (YBAs) (1992)

In 1992, Clarissa Dalrymple co-curated the first exhibition of Young British Artists (YBAs) in the United States with Barbara Gladstone and Richard Flood. The exhibition occurred at Stein Gladstone Gallery and Barbara Gladstone Gallery in New York's SoHo neighborhood, and included artists Lea Andrews,

Keith Coventry Keith Coventry is a British artist and curator.Burgess, John, Coventry, Keith, Hale, Matt, Noble, Paul, Owen, Peter. "City Racing: The Life and Times of an Artist-Run Gallery ardcover. Black Dog Publishing Ltd; illustrated edition (11 November ...

, Anya Gallaccio, Liam Gillick, Damien Hirst, Gary Hume, Abigail Lane, Sarah Lucas,

Steven Pippin Steven Pippin (born 1960 at Redhill, Surrey) is an English photographer and installation artist. Pippin works with converted or improvised photographic equipment and kinetic sculptures which are often based on physical models and are metaphors f ...

, Marc Quinn, Rachel Whiteread, and Marcus Taylor. In 1995, Richard Flood, then chief curator at the

Walker Arts Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, to ...

, organized ''Brilliant!, New Work From London'', an expanded version of the show.

Independent curator (1993-present)

Since 1993, Dalrymple has worked as a private advisor and independent curator, curating solo and group exhibitions at museums, alternative non-profit spaces, and commercial galleries. These include: MoMA PS1, Queens, NY;Bienenbach, Klaus, Cornelia Butler, and Neville Wakefield. "Greater New York 2010". P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, 2010.

White Columns White Columns is New York City’s oldest alternative non-profit art space. White Columns is known as a showcase for up-and-coming artists, and is primarily devoted to emerging artists who are not affiliated with galleries. All work submitted is ...

, New York; Mary Boone Gallery, New York; Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles; Nicole Klagsbrun, New York; Regen Projects, Los Angeles; Marianne Boesky, New York; Sadie Coles HQ, London; VeneKlasen/Werner, Berlin; Xavier Hufkens in Brussels; and

C24 Gallery C24 Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located on West 24th Street in Chelsea, New York City. The gallery was founded in 2011 by Emre and Maide Kurttepeli and partners, Mel Dogan, and Asli Soyak. David C. Terry is the gallery’s director and cu ...

in New York.

Personal life

In 1969, she married the writer Dennis Dalrymple. She has three sons. The third, Jesse (born 1971), was with the film director Jim McBride. The older two are Joe Ainley, a lawyer in San Jose, California, and Bo Allingham, a pest-control expert in England. Dalrymple, credited under the name Ainley, features in two of McBride's films: ''My Girlfriend's Wedding'' (1969) and ''Pictures From Life's Other Side'' (1971).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalrymple, Clarissa 1940s births Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American art curators American women curators Jeans family 21st-century American women