David LaChapelle's American Jesus

‘He was a modern-day martyr, a messenger — and he was innocent!” So says David LaChapelle of Michael Jackson, the man who got away from the celebrity photographer’s lens.

And while LaChapelle shot to fame on his startling, sometimes surreal fashion ads and portraits of icons David Bowie, David Beckham, Elton John, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and a gaggle of others, he never did get the Gloved One. Now, however, LaChapelle’s made Jackson the focal point of his new show, “American Jesus” — five oversize digital photos, three of them featuring a dead ringer for MJ.

The photo that bears the name of the show sums up the over-the-top tone: In it, a bearded man in tattered clothes holds the singer’s limp body as one sequined glove glitters amid the moss.

Also making its New York debut is The Rape Of Africa, a monumental artwork inspired by Sandro Botticelli's Venus & Mars of 1484.