Woodbury House presents the first UK solo exhibition by New York artist and filmmaker Charlie
Ahearn, best known for directing Wild Style (1983), the film that captured the birth of hip-hop.
Coinciding with the BFI London Film Festival’s 8th and 9th October screening of a new 4K restoration by
Arrow Films, Ahearn will unveil a major body of paintings and works on paper that bring his lifelong
artistic practice into focus.
Although widely recognised as a filmmaker, Ahearn has been a painter and visual artist throughout his
life. This exhibition brings together large-scale canvases, silkscreens, and mixed-media works
spanning from the late 1970s to today, many being shown publicly for the first time. The works revisit
the imagery and spirit of Wild Style and the communities that shaped it — from Wild Style Premiere in
Times Square (1983), 2025, and The Busy Bee Tokyo Wild Style (1983), 2025, to a collaborative
mixed media on paper with Jane Dickson, Times Square Show (Charlie Ahearn and Jane Dickson) –
Violet, 1980. Also featured are portraits of Patti Astor, Fab 5 Freddy, and Lee Quiñones, alongside
monumental canvases that capture the energy of this historic cultural moment.
“Most people know me as a filmmaker, but I’ve been a painter all along,”
says Ahearn.
“Seeing this body of work together for the first time is moving for me. The paintings carry my commitment to hip-hop history and to the originators of this culture.”
The making of Wild Style emerged directly from Ahearn’s immersion in the downtown art scene and his
collaborations with graffiti pioneers. In 1980, at the Times Square Show, he was introduced to Fab 5
Freddy, who connected him to the elusive subway writer Lee Quiñones. The following morning, Freddy
and Quiñones painted a large “FAB 5” mural in Times Square, a moment Ahearn later revisited in his
painting FAB5 Times Sq Show (w Lee and Fred) (1980), 2025, which will be included in the exhibition.
The three began working together, staging murals in the streets and laying the foundations of a film.
Quiñones, legendary for his handball court murals in the South Bronx, became the model for Wild
Style’s central character Zoro, a mysterious, unapproachable outlaw artist.
Released in 1983, Wild Style was unlike anything before it: made outside the studio system with local
MCs, DJs, b-boys, and writers, it played to packed houses and quickly travelled worldwide. From
Japan to London, the film became a catalyst for hip-hop’s international spread, bringing artists like
Grandmaster Flash, Lady Pink, and the Fantastic Five to new audiences.
Joseph Bannan, Woodbury House Partner, said:
“Working with Charlie Ahearn on his first UK solo exhibition is a true privilege. Wild Style was
instrumental in giving hip-hop and graffiti global exposure in 1983, and now, more than 40 years later,
we are proud to unveil a series of paintings that capture that same historic moment — this time
through a different lens, swapping the camera for canvas. Coinciding with the 4K restoration of Wild
Style premiering at the London Film Festival, the exhibition provides the perfect opportunity to
celebrate its legacy — a milestone of 1983, reimagined for 2025. For London and for collectors
worldwide, this will be a cultural landmark moment.”
Charlie Ahearn, 26th September – 10th October 2025 Woodbury House, London
Closing Party: 9th October 2025
The exhibition aligns with three major events: on 8th October 2025, BFI Southbank will premiere the new 4K restoration of Wild Style by Arrow Films, followed by a Q&A with Charlie Ahearn and Lee Quiñones. On 9th October, Woodbury House will host a closing celebration with Ahearn in attendance, marking the conclusion of the exhibition. That same day, the BFI London Film Festival will present an additional screening of Wild Style at the Prince Charles Cinema, Leicester Square. These events will be followed by the release of a special edition of WILD STYLE on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray in the US and the UK by Arrow Films. Tickets
About the artist
Charlie Ahearn (b. 1951, Binghamton, NY) is a filmmaker, visual artist, and cultural historian best
known for Wild Style (1982), the seminal film that documented New York’s emerging hip hop scene
and introduced graffiti, music, and dance to international audiences. His early projects include the
Super 8 kung fu film Deadly Art of Survival (1978) and co-organising the influential Times Square
Show (1980) with Colab. Ahearn co-authored and contributed his photographs to Yes Yes Y’all (2001),
a history of the first decade of hip hop.
Ahearn’s films have been presented at institutions including MoMA, New York, and Tate, London.
Since 2017, he has exhibited paintings and mixed-media works that combine silkscreen, photography,
and references to hip hop’s formative years, with presentations at P.P.O.W Gallery, Beyond the Streets
in Los Angeles, New York, and London (Saatchi Gallery, 2023) as well as museums across China. He
continues to live and work in New York City.
