In the Galleries: Verner deGray's French Polynesia

French photographer Verner deGray lived the chaotic life of a fashion photographer in France until one day he'd had enough. He quit his "life of numbers" and, like artist Paul Gauguin, found peace and solace in French Polynesia.

But the figurative work DeGray creates is often not the typical tourism of splashy color and tropical locales dotted with natives.

Of his work, Verner explained, "It is to highlight the man, hence the contrast with the chaotic scene. Many people ask me why I do not take a picture of my models on beautiful beaches. For me it's as if we put together a Lamborghini and a Ferrari. The gaze is lost in this representation of the beauty and both lose their value."

His work is currently on exhibit at the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas through November 10, and you can also see more than 24,000 square feet of permanent and featured exhibits exploring the “erotic imagination as depicted through the artistic expression of acts of sex and love.” The museum performs educational, scientific, and literary functions relating to sexual, emotional, mental, and physical health.