Gwen Hardie (b.1962), Untitled, 1987, charcoal on thin white paper
© The Trustees of the British Museum
Reproduced by permission of the artist

A British Museum touring exhibition Pushing paper: contemporary drawing from 1970 to now illustrates how artists experiment with the power of paper to express their ideas pushing the medium in new directions.

Amongst the oldest forms of human creativity, drawing is experiencing a resurgence in popularity as artists increasingly choose the medium as a means to examine the modern world, with topics ranging from explorations of gender and political activism to questions of belonging and human sexuality.

The exhibition of 56 works showcases the astonishing diversity of contemporary drawing over the last fifty years, with graphic work by artists such as David Hockney, Rachel Whiteread, Sol LeWitt, Anish Kapoor, Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry, as well as exciting works by emerging artists like Hamid Sulaiman and Rachel Duckhouse.

For the first time, the British Museum has co-curated this exhibition with partner museums from around the UK. In a new way of working, curatorial staff from partner museums collaborated with the British Museum to decide on themes within the exhibition and to research and select the works on display, as well as contribute chapters to the accompanying catalogue. The exhibition highlights the breadth and quality of the British Museum’s collection of modern art, as well as its global scope.

Generously supported by the Bridget Riley Art Foundation

Watch this short film, which gives a brief look at the exhibition at the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness, here >