Simon Petepiece
The Cobbler’s Bridge
From February 26 to April 4, 2026
Gallery Nicolas Robert is pleased to present The Cobbler’s Bridge, Simon Petepiece’s third show with the gallery. Using a combination of drawing, painting and installation, this new body of work considers the built environment of the 19th century as a model for working with historical forms and iconography. Central to this work is an interest in the way that new materials of the period (reinforced concrete, cast iron, structural steel) caused a rupturing of architectural language, divorcing structural considerations from formal and symbolic expression.
Working with ubiquitous contemporary materials, the show employs a received set of archetypal subjects from western history. Drawing from these references, details and forms repeat and shift meaning across the work, creating elliptical connections between subjects. Through this process, a persistent formal language emerges, as familiar iconography and genres are reworked and translated.
At the heart of the show, an architectural installation forms a space separated from the rest of the gallery. Designed to house a large-scale model, the geometry and structure of the installation creates a type of para-religious environment. Playing with the conventions and details of devotional architecture, the space uses a new syntax to treat the scale model as a symbolic and sacred object.
Simon Petepiece (b. 1992, Ottawa, ON) lives in Montreal, QC. Working directly with construction materials and processes, his practice explores how architectural spaces reflect and manifest our cultural beliefs. Creating objects that exist between sculpture and two-dimensional media, he uses ubiquitous materials like drywall and steel studs as both symbolic elements and substrate for drawing and painting. Recent exhibitions include solo shows at Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montreal (2024), Espace Maurice, Montreal (2023) and a duo show at the City Hall Art Gallery, Ottawa (2022). His work can be found in the City of Ottawa Art Collection and he holds a Master’s degree in architecture from Carleton University (2018).
