Yes, your eyes do not deceive you, its official, Paris Hilton is art. Last night, NYC-based, Nigerian-born artist Iké Udé put his work of the paparazzi-hungry heiress on display at Chelsea’s Stux Gallery in New York City in a show titled Paris Hilton: Fantasy and Simulacrum. The slightly erotic images put on display were a combination of Udé’s photographic eye and publishing background, using the oft shot American princess as his artistic muse.

Referencing advertisements from adult newspaper ads (no doubt further fueling the porno chic fire) to his obviously good relationship with his “heiress” subject, Udé’s images had the surprised effect of being slightly absurd and his lightly comic melange of photography and text blended together could have been a pointed poke at how shallow celebrity has become. A superficial farce, however, can only hold so much weight before the thinness of the material itself wears out and Elizabeth Peyton he is not. But stop by Stux Gallery for a look-see yourself, and you just might find your art-scrutinizing self relaxing your furrowed brow at the pure ridiculousness of it all.

STEFAN STUX GALLERY

530 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10001

tel: 212.352.1600
fax: 212.352.0302
stux@stuxgallery.com