Painting is a continually expanding and evolving form of creative expression whose ongoing relevance is here convincingly asserted by renowned critic and art historian Suzanne Hudson. Her book offers an original survey of contemporary work - a critical snapshot that brings together more than 200 artists from around the world who are defining the painterly ideas and aesthetics of our time. The introduction maps out the history of painting in the modern and postmodern eras, followed by six chapters that offer a wideranging thematic analysis of the field, addressing such ideas as appropriation, attitude, production and distribution, the body, painting about painting, and painters who introduce performance, installation and textiles into their work to critique painting itself.