Are the cascading boxes getting larger or smaller?
Tobias Putrih, Slovenia b.1972 / Connection 2004 / Cardboard / 740cm (height) (variable to a maximum height of 800cm) / Purchased 2008 with funds from Tim Fairfax AM through the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Tobias Putrih / Photograph: C Callistemon © QAGOMA / View full image
Cascading above us, Tobias Putrih’s Connection 2004 takes the architectural form of the arch as its subject, paying homage to a great modernist and utopian project of the twentieth century, the architect Eero Saarinen’s iconic 1960s Gateway Arch in St Louis, Missouri, United States. Putrih however introduces an element of irony as his version is constructed from cardboard boxes, diminishing slightly in size so that each box fits into the preceding one, playfully undermining the structural principle of an arch, and a reminder of wonder in the everyday.
Connection, a catenary arch, follows the ideal self-supporting shape for an arch, yet the paradox of this monumental and stable architectural form made of something so impermanent has been referred to as an artwork haunted by calculated instability. Made from cardboard boxes, Putrih emphasises the conceptual and material flexibility of this humble object. Boxes are used to store and ship items around the world, but they are equally useful for building whatever fantastical structures we dream up.
Putrih's often concept-based work comprises drawings, illustrations, plans, sculptures and intricately designed constructions, he chooses to work with everyday materials such as paper, plastic, brick, plywood, and cardboard.
Depending on how you view Connection, the boxes are either getting larger or smaller to fit into the next one.
Tobias Putrih, Slovenia b.1972 / Connection 2004 / Cardboard / 740cm (height) (variable to a maximum height of 800cm) / Purchased 2008 with funds from Tim Fairfax AM through the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Tobias Putrih / Photograph: C Callistemon © QAGOMA / View full image
Tobias Putrih's Connection 2004, installed in 'Wonderstruck' / Purchased 2008 with funds from Tim Fairfax AM through the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Tobias Putrih / Photograph: J Ruckli © QAGOMA / View full image
View Tobias Putrih’s Connection 2004 in 'Wonderstruck' at the Gallery of Modern Art until 6 October 2025 or delve into the captivating works on display with our weekly highlights.
Wonderstruck
28 June – 6 October 2025
Gallery of Modern Art
Gallery 1.1 (The Fairfax Gallery), Gallery 1.2 & Gallery 1.3 (Eric and Marion Taylor Gallery)
Brisbane, Australia
Free entry