​​The cabinet exhibitions display works by the founder and artist Manfred Bartling and relate them to the respective current exhibition at Haus. Kunst. Mitte. The autumn exhibition in 2022 presented a curated selection of Manfred Bartling's works. In addition to several oil paintings, works on paper were also exhibited.

The first focus of the presentation was on Manfred Bartling's self-portraits. Four self-portraits from over a decade, from 1963 to 1976, were on display. They provided insight into Bartling's inner transformation and his artistic self-reflection. Each painting is not only a representation of a face, but an expression of time, identity and artistic self-image. The series impressively shows how style, technique and self-image changed over the years. The portraits from 1963 and 1974 are particularly detailed. Both the foreground and background are clearly worked out, and the figure appears active. In one painting, Manfred Bartling is holding a paintbrush, in the other he is depicted eating. These everyday scenes refer to an artist who portrayed himself in the moment of action. In the following two portraits from 1975 and 1976, a stylistic change is visible. Reality recedes, the surroundings dissolve. With the increasing flatness of the background and the stronger symbolism of the scene, the effect of the compositions shifts. They appear more distant. The figure becomes increasingly abstract, both in form and function. Instead of actions or objects, the focus is now on pure presence.

The double portrait (Self-Portrait with Elisabeth Bartling, 1976) was also on display. In this work, the artist's partner takes centre stage, not merely as his counterpart, but as part of his personal and artistic identity. Manfred and Elisabeth Bartling often appeared together: he as a painter, she as a poet. They frequently exhibited their works in close collaboration, with painting and literature given equal prominence. The portrait refers to a special relationship and to the simultaneous presence of two artistic perspectives in a shared context. It is noteworthy that the two figures are separated by a pane of glass and that they are looking out of the painting. This distance is intensified by Bartling's hand gesture on the glass pane and perhaps indicates a silent longing for closeness. However, this remains unfulfilled, held back by the visible and symbolic separation of the two figures.

A second focus of the presentation was a group of drawings created in 1981 during a trip to India (Staubmenschen / Dust People, India 1981). They show people begging and lying on the ground, their bodies hidden under cloths. Bartling called them Dust People. These works were shown as part of the exhibition Bodies in Trouble – Berlin and London Artists in Dialogue. They address bodies in states of extreme vulnerability and social invisibility. In the exhibition Bodies in Trouble, the artists addressed the marginalisation and regulation of bodies, especially female bodies, in art, media, medicine and society. With self-reflection, humour and art-historical knowledge, they advocate for inclusive forms of representation and understand their work as an act of resistance and dialogue in times of social crisis.