--- title: "Reinventing the Portrait · Art Exhibition · Philipp Erlach" description: "Philipp Erlach's art exhibition Human Resources: A Private Collection. Ten works, ten moves. First evening in Berlin on June 25, 2026, next stop New York." author: "Philipp Erlach" language: en canonical: https://philipp-erlach.com/art-exhibition-new-york/ date: 2026-09-27 translation: de: https://philipp-erlach.com/de/art-exhibition-new-york/ license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) source: Generated at build time from the HTML page; same text. --- Art Exhibition # Reinventing the Portrait I portray people in what they do. A recurring movement, a reflex, a way of dealing with resistance. I call it a *move*: the way someone moves through life. Ten portraits capture these beauties. *[Photo: A visitor leaning towards the vitrines at Bunker West]* ***Human Resources**, **Bunker West**, Berlin, June 25, 2026.* *[Photo: Bärbel with family and friends at a party, with party hats and photo props]* ***Bärbel**, second from left, with the kissing lips.* Why I make art ## What remains of Bärbel? At the funeral of my friend Bärbel, someone said she was now in the clouds, in the grass. My daughter Alma objected: “I don’t see Bärbel there.” But where can we see Bärbel, now that she is dead? Bärbel had a lot of hardship in her life. She didn’t want to dig into it, she would rather take care of what was alive. That’s how I always saw her from my window, in the garden. The flower doesn’t care about the dirt. At Bärbel’s funeral, I would have liked to draw a picture of her, but I couldn’t find the words. Six, seven months later, an image of her came to me: a little golden boat. For her, living meant staying afloat. I named this move: *Protective Layer*. It teaches me: to navigate and protect my little life. “Oh, Philipp,” you would have said, laughing, “the things you do.” But it’s us, Bärbel. The sea has always been a passage. *[Photo: The little golden paper boat, HR-PC-01, on walnut against blue velvet]* ***Protective Layer**, HR-PC-01: My portrait of Bärbel.* How a work of art is made ## Moves and material Seeing a move and uncovering it takes time. I work on a move until I have it. And it has me. If it stays, I give it a form, create it anew. And put it in my small collection of human resources. *[Photo: Gilding a gorilla in the workshop]* ***In the workshop**: every move is preserved in 24-carat gold.* ## Berlin, New York ### Hanging it high My grandmother once rescued a watercolour I had painted as a child. She picked it up off the floor, framed it and hung it on the wall. I call this move *Elevation*. Art needs precisely this gesture: Look, this matters. Next stop New York. *[Photo: Exhibition room at Bunker West with the ten vitrines]* ***Bunker West**, **Berlin**, June 25, 2026: the ten works in the room* Human Resources: A Private Collection ## Works 1. [*[Photo: Protective Layer, HR-PC-01, in its vitrine]*HR-PC-01Protective LayerSeen in Bärbel](https://philipp-erlach.com/de/art-exhibition-new-york/schutzschicht/) 2. [*[Photo: Little Animal Philosophy, HR-PC-02, in its vitrine]*HR-PC-02Little Animal PhilosophySeen in Jill](https://philipp-erlach.com/de/art-exhibition-new-york/tierchenphilosophie/) 3. [*[Photo: Nothing but Possibilities, HR-PC-03, in its vitrine]*HR-PC-03Nothing but PossibilitiesSeen in Reinhold](https://philipp-erlach.com/de/art-exhibition-new-york/alles-nur-moeglichkeiten/) 4. [*[Photo: Elevation, HR-PC-04, in its vitrine]*HR-PC-04ElevationSeen in Elvira](https://philipp-erlach.com/de/art-exhibition-new-york/elevation/) 5. [*[Photo: Hand of God, HR-PC-05, in its vitrine]*HR-PC-05Hand of GodSeen in The Erlach family](https://philipp-erlach.com/de/art-exhibition-new-york/hand-gottes/) 6. [*[Photo: Won’t Catch Fire, HR-PC-06, in its vitrine]*HR-PC-06Won’t Catch FireSeen in Mrs Ammann](https://philipp-erlach.com/de/art-exhibition-new-york/sich-nicht-anzuenden-lassen/) 7. [*[Photo: Hang-Up, HR-PC-07, in its vitrine]*HR-PC-07Hang-UpSeen in Florian](https://philipp-erlach.com/de/art-exhibition-new-york/hang-up/) 8. [*[Photo: Staying With It, HR-PC-08, in its vitrine]*HR-PC-08Staying With ItSeen in Monika](https://philipp-erlach.com/de/art-exhibition-new-york/dabei-bleiben/) 9. [*[Photo: Creating Acceptance, HR-PC-09, in its vitrine]*HR-PC-09Creating AcceptanceSeen in Josef](https://philipp-erlach.com/de/art-exhibition-new-york/akzeptanz-schaffen/) 10. [*[Photo: Schnapsidee, HR-PC-10, in its vitrine]*HR-PC-10SchnapsideeSeen in Reina and Jörg](https://philipp-erlach.com/de/art-exhibition-new-york/schnapsidee/) Video podcastRadio Erlach - Spotify - Apple Podcasts - YouTube [To the home page](https://philipp-erlach.com/) --- Philipp Erlach, Frankfurt am Main. Web page: https://philipp-erlach.com/art-exhibition-new-york/ · License for this text: CC BY 4.0 · Overview for assistants: https://philipp-erlach.com/llms.txt