“SPF 32”
Brooklyn’s oldest brewery, the long abandoned prohibition-era William Ulmer Brewery in Bushwick, has been turned into an art gallery for “SPF 32,” curated by Madeleine Mermall. The show features 32 emerging and mid-career painters, predominantly female, who expand upon themes of summer through distilled moments, “depicting more than just the fleeting fantasia of hot sun on skin.” Look out for Adrienne Tarver’s watercolors of the female form and Alex Hammond’s glorified snapshots of suburban life.
On June 15 to July 6, at William Ulmer Brewery.
Cuco and Triathlon
LA-based musician Cuco has been making waves with his “Spanglish” lo-fi dream pop, from the quirky “CR-V” to his “Drown” duet with Clairo. “I’m working on my album now, little by little. Piecing it together…” he told i-D. “Sometimes I’m cool with it and then the next day I’m like, no this is fucking garbage. Then I’ll like crank out a bunch of songs and just redo the whole thing.” Turns out, Cuco’s debut album is set for release sometime this year and the artist is likely to show off some new tracks. Triathlon opens the show.
On June 20, at Brooklyn Steel.
Basquiat’s “Defacement”: The Untold Story
This new, tightly-focused exhibit will explore Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work through the lens of his identity and cultural activism in New York City in the early 80s, starting with the painting “The Death of Michael Stewart” (1983), informally known as Defacement. It was painted on Keith Haring’s wall and commemorates Stewart, who died after he was arrested for spray-painting graffiti in the subway. Paintings and prints made by other artists in response to Stewart’s death will be exhibited alongside other Basquiat works.
On June 21, at the Guggenheim Museum.
Slowthai
British rapper Slowthai is making a highly-anticipated trip across the pond with his first US shows this month, following the release of his debut album Nothing Great About Britain. The Northampton-born cult artist has become one of the UK’s most exciting young rappers at only 24-years-old, but he doesn’t think he’s necessarily the voice of a generation. “I just want to be the voice of the people who want to hear it,” he told i-D. He’s joined on stage by Kelvin Krash.
On June 21 and 22, at Elsewhere.
A Bigger Splash
This weekend, Metrograph offers a number of screenings of A Bigger Splash, an intimate film about the English-born, California-based artist David Hockney and his life’s work. Directed by Jack Hazan, it’s a narrative-nonfiction hybrid featuring the artist and his friends, to create “a time capsule of hedonistic gay life in the 70s, an honest-yet-tender depicting of gay male romance that dispenses with the then-current narratives of self-hatred and self-pity.” Screenings are accompanied by Q&A’s with Hazan, as well as Richard Haines and Ryan McNamara.
On June 22 and 23, at Metrograph.