In his current exhibition Come or flage 9975-17090-42829, Austrian artist Christian Eisenberger unfolds a narrative about being human, the conquest of space and the fragile relationship between nature and civilization. In an interplay of painting, sculpture and conceptual practice, he creates works that oscillate between organic chance and social reflection.

At the center of the exhibition are the so-called lacquer paintings, which were subjected to an organic process of creation over a period of 18 months. The artist repeatedly poured leftover paint from previous projects over the canvases lying on the floor, causing paint sediments to collect in the center. The works are reminiscent of primordial mud, the primordial soup and the beginning of something living that forms by chance. They are abstract formations that carry the moment of becoming within them. These works enter into a dialog with Eisenberger's outdoor projects. The swamps, expanses of water and forests of the artist's rural surroundings become a source of inspiration and the work in enclosed spaces and in nature become a reciprocal mirror.

A central group of works relates to Eisenberger's iconic cardboard figures, life-size, realistically painted silhouettes that the artist installed anonymously in public spaces in his early years and which often were taken away without a trace by the audience. He created 9,975 of these figures before consequently ending the series. In the exhibition, these figures appear as a documentary archive of an imaginary human history: groups of people who would never have met in real life come together here.

Collages, copies and mechanical reproductions run like a common thread through the artist's work, as “multiplied accomplices” of a complicated, often contradictory world. Architectural elements are also incorporated. Elements of Gothic sacral architecture. They lose their monumentality, transforming into fragile shapes or playful constructions such as the Schaukelkirche (church-swing) installation, which creates a feeling of childlike lightness.

With Come or flage 9975-17090-42829, Christian Eisenberger poses fundamental questions about work, society, spirituality and human happiness. How much does it take to feel joy? And does contentment possibly limit us?