Gazing at the canvases that architect-artist Sacha Cotture has painted on, one easily notice a sense of spontaneity and experimentation. Bold as well as delicate, flowing strokes of Chinese ink form organic shapes and textures, abstractions that recall natural formations.
Having had no formal art training, Cotture is guided by his artistic credo of “not knowing but doing.” This spontaneity furnishes Cotture with a wellspring of inspiration for his artworks. “When I paint, the result is often very far from what I was originally planning to develop,” he says. “The list of explorations becomes endless.”
Cotture’s exploration of Chinese ink for his latest series of paintings was inspired by his experience of living in China. He confesses to having fallen in love with the “modesty of the medium” and the infinite possibilities it offers.
Asked whether his art is influenced by his architecture and vice versa, Cotture draws a line between the two disciplines. “Architecture is a long, cooperative work that has to lead to a utilitarian and efficient object,” he says. “Painting allows me to simply be in the moment, to be in communion with myself without distraction.”
Despite the differences, Cotture admits that there are instances where his research and experimentation for one field can influence the other. He also adds that this “exciting process” of continued experimentation is constant whatever the field, where preconceived plans are almost always subject to flux, and solutions can come from the most unexpected of places. 
