Abstraction, a large red abstract oil painting by Ritu Raj (oil on canvas, 6 × 6 ft)

Something happened when you saw this. What was it?

Ephemeral Atmosphere · 2023

Abstraction

6 × 6 ft · Oil on canvas · 2023

Painted over. The canvas now carries another painting.

The thing itself — atmosphere distilled past the point of reference into something that is only what it is.

Abstraction (2023) is both a title and a philosophy — a declaration of intent and a question left unanswered. Part of the Ephemeral Atmosphere Collection, this 72 x 72 inch mixed media painting invites viewers to step outside representation and into sensation. It’s not about what it shows. It’s about how it feels.

The surface unfolds in translucent veils and bold interventions. Warm neutrals meet sudden reds. Lines emerge, then fade. There's motion without direction — as if the painting is thinking aloud, without needing resolution. I let intuition guide each mark, allowing the work to evolve through response rather than plan.

This piece was created in a moment of personal openness — a willingness to let go of subject and allow form to lead. It became a conversation with the unknown, where the canvas reflected not a narrative, but a state of being.

In tone and process, Abstraction resonates with the spirit of Gerhard Richter, particularly his abstract works where gesture, erasure, and accident form a visual language of ambiguity. Like Richter, I’m fascinated by the tension between control and chance — the beauty in what cannot be named.

Abstraction isn’t a placeholder. It’s a stance. A reminder that sometimes the most powerful expressions don’t point to something else. They point inward.

As part of the Ephemeral Atmosphere Collection, this work captures that fleeting moment when the mind quiets and the eye begins to feel.

Where to see it. In person at RituStudio, Phoenix, by appointment. Represented by Jarrow & Goodman, Los Angeles.

The space it needs

Wall
At least 8 ft wide
Ceiling
9 ft or more
Light
Natural light transforms this work — morning and evening light read differently
Daylight
Mostly charcoal and graphite with teal running through, it holds steady in daylight, though direct sun flattens the darks. Raking morning or evening light brings the textured surface up and lets the oxblood and ochre glow.

Lives best in

Living room 5/5

A six-foot field of charcoal, graphite, and oxblood earns a 5 here because a living room is where solitude is chosen, not imposed, and this work rewards exactly that kind of slow, willing attention.

Bedroom 4/5

Mood 1 and a palette built from charcoal and graphite black make this a companion to sleeplessness as much as rest, but for the collector who wants the room to feel like a drawn breath held, that is precisely the point.

Details

Size
6 × 6 ft (W × H)
Medium
Oil on canvas
Year
2023
Collection
Ephemeral Atmosphere
Palette
Charcoal Gray · Charcoal · Graphite Black · Oxblood · Teal · Ochre
Weight
About 45 lb

Its ArtGram

ArtGram.Spur

  • Texture4
  • Form2
  • Colour range3
  • Palette2.4
  • Contrast3
  • Abstraction Quotient1
Read the full reading on ArtGraph →

Keywords

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