Painting Beyond the Brush: Reinventing Technique in Contemporary Abstraction
Discover how Ritu Raj’s innovative techniques—painting with string and CNC wood panels—are redefining abstraction in today’s art world.
Throughout history, artists have expanded the language of painting by challenging its tools. Jackson Pollock abandoned the brush for the drip. Gerhard Richter pushed pigment with a squeegee. Today, that spirit of reinvention continues as artists explore new processes that alter how abstraction can be made—and experienced.
My own practice carries this impulse forward by experimenting with materials and methods that defy convention. Instead of relying on traditional brushes, I paint using string dipped in pigment, pulling and dragging it across the surface to create layered, organic forms. The tension of the string produces unpredictable movements—lines that feel alive, vibrating between control and chance.
In parallel, I often work on CNC-molded wood panels, where the surface itself becomes sculptural. The carved ridges and textures catch paint differently, adding depth and shadow that transform the painting into something tactile, almost architectural. In this way, the medium becomes part of the message: abstraction is not just visual but physical, inviting touch, memory, and spatial awareness.
This search for new tools is not about novelty for its own sake—it’s about pushing abstraction into fresh territory. Just as Pollock’s drip redefined gesture, my use of string emphasizes the act of painting as performance. Just as Richter’s squeegee flattened and blurred imagery, the CNC-carved panels embed structure into abstraction, grounding it in material presence.
For collectors, these innovations matter. They are a chance to acquire works that stand at the edge of experimentation, connected to the history of abstraction yet undeniably of this moment. For gallerists, they offer a way to engage audiences with something they have not seen before—paintings that question what a painting can be.
To paint beyond the brush is to honor tradition while rewriting it. Abstraction, after all, has always thrived on reinvention.
