Pushing paper: contemporary drawing from 1970 to now

The exhibition highlights the breadth and quality of the British Museum’s collection of modern drawings, as well as its global scope. It illustrates how artists experiment with paper to express the power of their ideas, pushing drawing in new directions. For the first time, the British Museum has co-curated an exhibition with partner museums from around the UK to display and then tour contemporary artworks from its Prints and Drawings collection, generously supported by the Bridget Riley Art Foundation.

The exhibition of 56 works will showcase 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. Many of these pieces will be on public display for the first time, including work by Gwen Hardie, Jonathan Callan and Jan Vanriet.

The exhibition has been on tour to partner museums around the UK between February 2020 and Spring 2022 as part of the Museum’s National Programmes, allowing more people around the UK the opportunity to see British Museum objects outside of London. The display at Pier Arts Centre will be the final opportunity to see this remarkable exhibition.

As part of the Pier Arts Centre’s programme of activities associated with the exhibition, on Saturday 2 April at 3pm, there will be an informal walking tour of the galleries, giving audiences an opportunity to meet with some of the exhibition Curators and ask questions.

The Pier Arts Centre is open Tuesday to Saturday 10:30am-5pm. Admission is free.