What lies behind the spots and strokes of abstraction? Attendees of the lecture at RGBM will get acquainted with the philosophy of abstract expressionism, learn to perceive art without plots, and discover how paintings become arenas of feelings and actions. Abstract expressionism is one of the most expressive and emotional movements in 20th-century art. It emerged in the USA after World War II and became a symbol of freedom of artistic expression. The desire to convey the inner world of the artist, their emotions, intuitive impulses, and experiences replaced figuration. Paintings ceased to be a window to reality and transformed into a space of action, where each stroke is a gesture, each spot is an emotion, and each color is an intonation. The viewer becomes not just an observer but a participant in the painting as an artistic event. In Svetlana Sokolova's lecture, attendees will learn about the main milestones of the movement, its origins, and philosophy. Two key directions will be discussed: "action painting" and "pictorial fields," as well as the work of iconic representatives: Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Willem de Kooning, and others. Each of them contributed something unique to abstract expressionism, whether it be the technique of "drip painting" or monochromatic color fields. The lecture will help to look at abstract painting in a new way and perhaps fall in love with it.