Subverting its former role as a primarily preparatory medium, drawing is enjoying a resurgence among contemporary artists and students. Pushing paper examines why drawing has not only endured, but continues to thrive as an artistic expression.

56 works, produced between the 1970s and the present day, are used to explore the vital and fundamental nature of drawing. Themes such as place and space, and power and protest, offer new lenses through which to view these major artists.

Supported by the Bridget Riley Art Foundation, this book explores the work of the world’s most important contemporary artists, including Louise Bourgeois, Judy Chicago, Richard Deacon, Tracey Emin, David Hockney, Anish Kapoor, Anselm Kiefer, Cornelia Parker, Sol LeWitt, Grayson Perry, Bridget Riley, Imran Qureshi, and Rachel Whiteread, as well as exciting works by new and emerging artists, such as Hamid Sulaiman and Rachel Duckhouse.