Meet Paula Henderson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paula Henderson.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you, your work and your story.
Over time my work variously represents my interest in our social unity through an exploration of the perceptions that continue to keep us apart. By probing systems of representation in both abstract and figurative paintings I have tried to make works that stand on their own formally, as well as become opportunities for reflection. In figurative works, I continue to address distorted representations of women that are ubiquitous in the commercial media as powerful shapers of our sense of worth.

By contrast, in the series Groundwork(s), I make the patterns left on ground surfaces from our movement the basis of abstract compositions that acknowledge the beauty of formal elements of color, line, and composition while simultaneously working beyond those formal elements to connect to thoughts of our shared space, our collectivity and more.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced?
I think my biggest challenge is to fashion the balance between formal aesthetics and meaning, allowing both to work together without one overwhelming the other. The other common challenge is to capture the time required for making the work and growing opportunities for exposure and maintaining a part-time teaching position at the School of the Art Institute.

We’d love to hear more about your practice.
My painting practice has for years now focused on social issues This has led me to explore the status quo regarding how systems of representation inform our views of ourselves and one another.

This interest has led me to probe the underlying agency of census and other urban mapping in their presentation of social disparities.

It has led me to examine and appropriate the contours of professional athletes and fashion models from the pages of newspapers and magazines to make compositions that speak to the determinative nature of these commercial enterprises that continue to limit our human potential beyond our commercial value.

My teaching of art history additionally influences my most recent paintings which have become more abstract as a strategy that blends both my interest in mid-century modern abstraction and social challenges.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.paulahendersonart.com
• Email: paulahenderson1@gmail.com
• Instagram: paulahenderson222
• Facebook: paula henderson

Image Credit:
Groundwork(s) series

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