Paradigm Gallery + Studio is pleased to present Legendary, a solo exhibition of original artwork by graffiti legend and pioneer, Darryl “Cornbread” McCray. After a multi-year global exhibition tour from Amsterdam to Paris to Bogotá, Cornbread returns to his hometown of Philadelphia for his largest solo exhibition to date in the city where it all began. The show pulls from the artist’s recent global successes and includes artwork from his solo exhibition at STRAAT Museum in Amsterdam, a newly published book “Cornbread the Legend” from his recent Paris tour, and a movie set piece he created during his cameo in Audrey's children, Tribeca Film Festival’s winner of the Tribeca X Award for Best Feature 2024, just to name a few.

Known internationally by his tag name, Cornbread, he is credited with being the world’s first modern graffiti artist, starting with a distinct, non-gang-related, tagging style in Philadelphia in 1965. The artist will be unveiling over 100 works on decommissioned street signs, postcards, subway maps, mailing stickers, original canvases, and more that will be on display on the first and second floors of the gallery. This vast collection celebrates Cornbread’s massive impact on street art and graffiti culture around the world, cultivated from his stunts as a young artist to his accomplishments as an advocate for public art initiatives in Philadelphia.

This exhibition is also in celebration of the accession of Cornbread’s work into The Hip Hop Museum’s collection for the museum’s grand opening in the Bronx, New York in Fall 2026.

Cornbread’s work is seen as the foundation for not just Philadelphia’s street art scene but also for the history of Hip Hop itself, with graffiti being the first of the elements of Hip Hop culture. This exhibition calls attention to the cinematic stories surrounding Cornbread’s career, known around the world, elevating him to be a living monument continuing to influence the artists, writers, breakers, and musicians of today.