Danny Simmons has one foot in Philly

There is much for painter Danny Simmons to do before he opens his "Badass Art Man!" exhibition at the African American Museum in Philadelphia on Friday.

The self-described "neo-African abstract expressionist" isn't just packing up his own large-scale works, such as 2013's cluttered, jazzy In the Middle of Sumthin. There are also life-size superhero statues, along with his extensive collection of traditional African sculptures, his cache of rare signed first editions, and his deep catalog of paintings from such abstract expressionist brethren as Derrick Adams and Edward Clark. Examples of all this will be part of his exhibition.

And beyond that, "I've got a serious amount of stuff to pack," Simmons says with a laugh. "Eventually, it's all got to go."

   By which he means everything, and go. As in move, permanently, from Brooklyn to Philadelphia.

The 61-year-old painter, published poet (I Dreamed My People Were Calling But I Couldn't Find My Way Home), semi-fictional novelist (Three Days as the Crow Flies, a wry look at the New York City art scene of about 1980), and television pioneer (he cocreated HBO's Def Poetry Jam with his brother, hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons) is making a leap.

"He's going to be good for Philly's art scene," says Simmons' pal and fellow painter Raphael Tiberino. "He's generous with his time, he's a collector of priceless artifacts as well as uber-nerd stuff. Danny's house and collection is an extension of himself, and it all figures into his work."

What influences Simmons' colorful artistry? He talks about cubist Wifredo Lam ("Picasso never had his passion") and fellow abstractionists Norman Lewis and Jacob Lawrence ("the old masters") with the same reverence as he does early Marvel comic books. "It's all in there."

As a painter, Simmons moved from early work in figurative abstractions and morphing the human form to something freer, less figurative, and more spiritual, closer to his roots and historical African art. His paintings grew more graphic, frenetic yet harmonic, specked with polka dots and concentrically circling prisms of energy à la Chuck Close. "That's where I began to think of myself as this self-appointed, neo-African abstract expressionist," he says.

Speak of ancestors and he connects himself to his immediate family - father Daniel Simmons Sr., a history professor who wrote poetry, and mother Evelyn Simmons, a teacher who painted.

"I wasn't inspired by their work directly, as my dad's stuff was stately, less free verse than mine," he says of his father's Langston Hughes-like poetic outlook. "And my mom was an impressionist."

What he got from them was the urge, the longing to create - "the passion."

Then there's older brother Russell and younger brother Joseph, Reverend Run of Run DMC.

"I'm not closer to one than the other, but I did take Joe to the movies as a kid, which thrilled him. I mean, who isn't excited to hang with their older brother? Now, I did more work with Russell, but when I was a kid, he didn't hang with me. He was trying to get things done with his older pals." Simmons says the Reverend is the big family man of the three, "the guy whose house we all have dinner at during the holidays."

The idea of home, where Simmons keeps his stuff, is what drives the "Badass Art Man!" exhibition, where his tchotchkes, collectibles and paintings will be on display. "I got the idea when Raphael and his family had their show at the African American Museum," says Simmons of 2013's The Unflinching Eye: Works of the Tiberino Family Circle, featuring the art and stuff - theirs and their friends, Simmons included - in their West Philly home studio and mural-filled garden. "I've had exhibitions before and felt as if just showing my art didn't fully or accurately describe who I was," he says.

Notes Tiberino, "Like me, Danny's house and collection is an extension of himself and all figures into his work. Danny has a policy similar to my dad's in that he's very welcoming, believes that everyone has something viable to give and necessary to say, and that he's not a purist."

Simmons is completing the sale of his Brooklyn house and homing in on one of several properties in West Philly. He looks forward to the change.

"Look, I've been involved in the Brooklyn art scene for 20 years, am on every board of directors from BAM to the library and have been part of this borough's every change and revamp, culturally and physically."

So, he's bored with boards? "Yeah," he laughs. "Plus, I don't feel as if there is any new ground left for me in Brooklyn, wherein with Philly, it's an exciting new frontier for the arts."

Not only is he bringing himself, his dogs and his stuff, he's also looking to relocate his Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation for urban youth, and hopes to open a gallery.

"I think a lot is going to happen in Philly and I want to be part of it."

Badass Art Man!: Original Artwork of Danny Simmons

Friday to May 31 at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch St.

Admission: Adults, $14;  others, $10

Information: 215-574-0380 or www.aampmuseum.orgEndText