The Greek Word anabasis the root of which is linked to the idea of climbing (anabaino is Greek for “I’m marching up”) was used by Xenophon as the title of his account of the expedition of Greek soldiers in the hostile Persian Empire. Rid of their leaders and maps they struggled up north – upwards – slowly departing from the seacoast which was better known to them. We can treat this word as a metaphor of the situation of painting in postmodern times in which there are no clear cues or avant-garde coryphaeus who would determine the direction of development. So, what kind of strategies can be used in this situation? On the one hand one can stick to familiar contours of reality and make a painting a faithful mirror of real life. On the other hand one can “march upwards” with no map, equipped only with an inner compass. Two Poznań artists, Alicja Światłoń and Sonia Rammer chose the latter way. Keeping to the traditional painting methods they do not surf on the wave of modern figurative forms inspired by contemporary pop culture, but they reach for less direct references.