Forty years separate this book "The Trace," written in maturity, from the youthful work "The Expression." Arno Stern created a place - the painting place, where a game took place - the painting game, and (unbeknownst to him) triggered an expression that had never occurred anywhere before. For sixty years, he has been a witness to this endless revelation that has illuminated his life with enthusiasm. In this book, he recounts many people, musicians, painters, dancers, educators, who accompanied him along the way - and the decisive encounter with his wife, whose presence is felt throughout all the years described.