Gestural brush-strokes, the impression of spontaneity, large-scale paintings, and use of abstraction and unconventional materials. This goes under the name ‘Abstract Expressionism’. Developed in the 1940s and 1950s in a climate of Cold War politics and social and cultural conservatism, Abstract Expressionism marked a break away from traditional processes, introducing a new language of creative, vital expression. And truly, it’s hard to imagine a world without Rothko, de Kooning and Pollock.