According to the artist, Steve Ellis paints “trashy glamour and disposable, dangerous pop still lifes.” From broken high heels to a stripping pen, guns that blast “OOPS!” to a crashed Swinger, his neo-pop artworks glorify and vilify the detritus that Man leaves behind him. The ‘Summer Salon’ group show opens tomorrow night at Sloan Gallery and Ellis is showcasing one piece from his new series that trains a distorted magnifying glass on mangled celebrity tabloids. “The crumpled magazines are simple appropriations from an already trashy subject,” Ellis explained by email. “By distorting the glossy celebrities and text, a new ugly truth is unveiled. Gossip magazines and downward spiraling celeb stories printed weekly in glossy rags trumps real news about our world today because somehow people can’t get enough.” Click below for more another mutilated celebrity mag from the new collection of work.

Bonus quote describing the inspiration for the project after a roommate would bring home stolen celebrity rags, “I crumpled up the cover one day and the smiling face instantly changed. It looked more like Picasso’s Crying Woman from his cubist phase.”