Paula Henderson

Art and sports are unlikely bedfellows, but Paula Henderson’s six large-scale abstract paintings of basketball courts viewed from above—and one of muscle-bound players—bring them together in a charming, if awkward, fashion.

In Royal Schemata II, Henderson tiles basketball courts outlined in various team colors (e.g., the Seattle Sonics’ yellow and green). The courts’ simple black lines and beige coloring echo gyms of the early 20th century, when the sport was invented.

The Big Dipper portrays blue basketball figures leaping, dribbling and slipping, recalling the fascination with athletic form and movement seen in Paul Pfeiffer’s 2001 video Race Riot (an endless loop of Chicago’s own Michael Jordan struggling on the court). Unfortunately, Henderson’s static painting makes these forms look like weirdly misplaced floating bodies instead of bringing them to life.

Henderson’s strongest pieces, Enterprize and Schemata, are the least sporty of the bunch, focusing more on lines and symmetry than obvious team associations. In fact, it’s almost a shame the artist used team colors, which will probably score more points with sports fans than art aficionados. They distract from the formal structures that are the true focus of her work: The b-ball court symbolizes any plan we use to map out our world.