‘Wild Style’ Director Debuts Paintings

While his name is synonymous with the dawn of hip-hop cinema, new york artist and film charlie ahearn is finally getting his due as a visual artist. Woodbury House in London is set to host ahearn’s first-government solo exhitus, Spotlighting His Vast, Lifelong Practice as a Painter and Mixed-Media Creator.

AHEARN IS BEST KNOWN FOR Directing The Influential 1983 Film, Wild Stylea Landmark Movie that Masterfully Captured the Birth and Essence of Hip-Hop Culture. Howver, This New Exitty Reveals that ahearn has been an active painter and visual artist throughout his entity career.

The Primary Brings Together Large-Scale Canvases, Silkscreens, and Mixed-Media WORKS Spanning from the late 1970s to Today, Mary Being Shown Publicly for the First Time. The work Revisis the Imagery and Spirit of Wild Style and the communities that shaped it – From Wild Style Premiere in Times Square (1983), and the Busy Bee tokyo Wild Style (1983), to a collaborating mixed media on paper with Jane Dickson, Times Square Show (Charlie Aharn and Jane Dickson) – Violet, 1980. Quiñones, Alongside Monumental Canvases that Capture the Energy of This Historic Cultural Moment.

“Most People Know AS A Filmmaker, but been a Painter All Along,” Says AHEARN. “SEEing this body of the Work Together for the first time is moving for me. The paintings Carry my community to hip-hop history and the originators of this culture.”

The Making of Wild Style Emerged Directly from Ahearn’s Immersion in the Downtown Art Schene and His Collaborations with Graffiti Pioneers. In 1980, at the Times Square Show, he was introded 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 lateren revisted in His Painting FAB5 Times sq Show (1980), which is included in the meal. 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.

The Exhibition Aligns With Three Major Events: On 8 October 2025, BFI Southbank Will Premiere the New 4K Restoration of Wild Style by Arrow Films, Followed by A Q & A With Charlie and Lee Quiñones. On 9 October, Woodbury House Will Host a Clobing Celebration with Ahearn in Attendance, Marking the Conclusion of the Expirion. 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 blue-ray in the us and the uk by arrow films.

Beyond Fest in Los Angeles Will Host the West Coast of the 4K Restoration on October 2 at the neon theater at los feliz 3.

Charlie AHEARN: Wild Style RUNS From 26 September to 10 October 2025 at Woodbury House in London.