Following the Second World War, Europe and the world witnessed the emergence of a radically different style of painting. In Cubism, Expressionism or Surrealism, post-war painting began to use other materials, of low extraction, in stark contrast to the accepted, noble materials traditionally associated with the medium. These new lowly materials included sand, gypsum, cardboard, newspaper, sack cloths, rags and fabric, as well as anything that could be classified as waste.

On display in the exhibition are 160 artworks, documents and films coming from various institutions and public and private collections, including the Fondation Gandur pour l'Art in Geneva, the Centre Pompidou, the Pinacothèque in Brera, the Museum Folkwang in Essen, the Dietmar Siegert Collection, the Fondation Poto Colectania, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona.