Large Space Version 3

Medium: Mixed Media on Canvas
Size: 6ft x 8ft
Creation Date: 2022
Collection: Ephemeral Atmosphere

Large Space Version 3 (2022) is a meditative, minimalist acrylic painting measuring 72 x 96 inches, part of the Ephemeral Atmosphere Collection. Created during a period marked by isolation and uncertainty, the work explores emptiness not as a void, but as a container for thought, reflection, and possibility.

At first glance, the canvas appears deceptively simple: muted tones, expansive flat planes, and a sparse visual field. But this simplicity is charged — a deliberate invitation into presence. With restrained brushwork and a disciplined palette, the painting evokes the stillness of abandoned architecture, wide-open deserts, or the psychological interior of silence.

There is a clear visual affinity with the work of Ellsworth Kelly, whose large-scale color fields embrace the power of shape and spatial clarity. Yet where Kelly leaned toward pure formalism, Ritu Raj imbues his large spaces with emotional resonance. Large Space Version 3 is less about the absence of objects and more about the presence of possibility — a place where the viewer’s own thoughts and feelings can arise, take shape, and breathe.

The title implies an evolution — a third attempt at distilling the essence of “space” into form. In this version, space is neither intimidating nor sterile. Instead, it becomes a mirror, a field of projection, or even a sanctuary. In a world inundated with stimulation, Large Space Version 3 offers a radical alternative: stillness, spaciousness, and a pause for meaning to surface.

As part of the Ephemeral Atmosphere Collection, this painting captures a moment in history when our environments were stripped down and our perceptions sharpened. In its quiet power, Large Space Version 3 reminds us that abstraction isn’t always chaos — sometimes, it is calm, clear, and unexpectedly full.