DID AMAR'E STOUDEMIRE & CIARA BREAK UP?

Has Amar'e Stoudemire said "sayonara" to Ciara?

The New York Knicks forward and team renaissance man was slated to attend Tuesday night's Whitney Art Party with the "Goodies" singer, but arrived without her and spent a good portion of the night gazing at another masterpiece of the female form.

Stoudemire seemed to be a little sensitive to the fact that Ciara was not with him. When we asked the ballplayer where she was, he replied curtly: "She's not here, buddy." (Reps for Stoudemire and Ciara did not get back to us by deadline.)

Stoudemire did not have a difficult time finding a beautiful woman to keep him company, however. After making a couple of rounds through the young and fashionable crowd at the Highline Stages on W. 15th St., Stoudemire — who served as an honorary co-chair of the event with fashion designer Eddie Borgo and Pop editor-at-large Shala Monroque — headed to a makeshift VIP area with his agent, Happy Walters.

Towering over the crowd, Stoudemire quickly became a magnet for a parade of beautiful women who wanted to be in a photo with him. After dancing in place to the deejay for a bit, he became engrossed in conversation with a statuesque brunette who told us her name was Laura Belmont-de Gunzburg.

She said she works at the Pace Gallery and is the daughter of art collector Nathalie de Gunzburg, the chairman of the board of trustees at Dia Art Foundation.

Laura said she and Stoudemire were "just friends," and the Knick eventually left the VIP area without her to peruse the artwork offered in the silent auction. He seemed to get a real kick out of a 3-D silk-screened boom-box piece by Ryan Humphrey. Entitled "Ghetto Blaster," the artwork even came with silk-screened cassettes.

Earlier in the evening, Stoudemire told us that art and food were "areas of interest" in which "I want to learn more."

On Monday night in Chelsea, the big man displayed his culinary curiosity at the American Express-sponsored Taste of the Nation event at Center 548. Stoudemire sported a special chef's jacket embroidered with his nickname — "Chef Stat" — and assisted his personal chef, Maxcel Hardy, who served signature crab cakes and lamb chops. Stoudemire, for his part, said he can whip up a mean steak and eggs, but added: "That's all I got."




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