Philadelphia is glowing with color this fall. At Woodmere, in Chestnut Hill, Listen with Your Eyes is the inaugural retrospective dedicated to Moe Brooker (1940–2022), one of the city’s most beloved and visionary artists. The exhibition is on view in Charles Knox Smith Hall from September 25, 2026, through January 17, 2027.
The show traces the full arc of Brooker’s career, from his academic realist paintings of the 1960s to the incandescent abstract works that made him unforgettable — rainbow patchwork fields animated by sweeping, calligraphic marks that seem to move as you look. Brooker drew on a rich mix of sources: the structure and tones of jazz, the bright lights and graffiti of the Philadelphia cityscape, African and African-American weavings and quilts, and touchstones from Giotto to Wassily Kandinsky and Hans Hofmann.
Alongside the paintings, visitors will find wall-mounted and freestanding sculptures, weavings, sketchbooks and personal ephemera — an intimate window into how Brooker worked and thought. The celebration continues today, Saturday, October 24, with Knowing Joy: Remembering Moe Brooker, a free panel from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in Smith Hall where artists, colleagues and friends share stories of his joyful spirit. Woodmere’s fall Friday Night Jazz season is also inspired by the exhibition, with each performance titled for a featured Brooker work.
Woodmere is at 9201 Germantown Avenue and is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Come ready to slow down, look closely — and, as Brooker invites us, listen with your eyes.
Photo: Woodmere Art Museum
