Urbaine XXXII

Born in the Saguenay Lac St-Jean in 1965, the artist known as Sacha moved to Montreal to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design from the Université du Québec à Montréal in 1982. Upon his graduation, Sacha stayed in Montreal where he worked for a number of advertising firms and taught private art classes.

As his love for painting evolved, he decided to devote himself entirely to the pursuit of his passion. Sacha’s travels throughout Canada, the United States, and Latin America greatly influenced his art practice, transforming his palette to include an impressive array of ochre, burnt umbre, orange, burgundy and vibrant blue that make his work instantly recognizable. His application of paint is in generous layers upon the canvas and the pigments are left pure in order to give each subject its unique shape, texture and light. His expressive brushstrokes and vibrant colours appear almost flat on the surface. The artist’s innate curiosity led him not only to journey through new lands and territories, but to explore a variety of styles and themes, though his best-known work remains his Montreal Street scenes, and especially his back-alley series that mainly depict the neighbourhood of “Montreal Plateau.” Whatever the subject, Sacha’s paintings are executed with equal confidence and passion. 

Sacha’s painterly career was a risk that paid off for the artist. Upon his return from travelling, he moved to the Quebecois countryside where he continues to paint. Among his many accomplishments include his participation in an important series focused on Chile’s culture in Santiago, Chile; doing illustrations for the book Histoire de Nelson, written by Joanne Lalancette; and teaching visual arts in a private school in Oaxaca, Mexico. Sacha is exhibited in galleries throughout Canada and the United States.