SwissArtGallery · Documented identity

Leo Erb

For Leo Erb (1923–2012), a German artist born in St. Ingbert and deceased in Kaiserslautern, the line and white—rendered in all its nuances—are the two guiding threads of his work. This exploration takes shape in linear paper cut-outs, sculptures and line drawings, then extends to line paintings and reliefs, hand drawings, material paintings, kinetic and light objects, and hand-printed works. A pencil drawing from 1974, entitled “Life and Death of the Line” and signed “Erb, 1974”, testifies to the importance this question held in his work.

Erb studied at the School of Applied Arts in Kaiserslautern from 1940 to 1943, under the direction of Joseph Wack according to the biography provided by Galerie Michelle Champetier, then attended the School of Arts and Crafts in Saarbrücken in 1946–1947, where he studied, among others, with Boris Kleint. In 1948–1949, he set up his first studio in St. Ingbert; his first solo exhibition was presented in 1957 at Galerie Elitzer in Saarbrücken. In the same year, he founded the Neue Gruppe Saar with his former teacher Boris Kleint and other young artists from Saarland. From around 1958, he produced line paintings and reliefs, which he presented, among other venues, in Düsseldorf at the 7th Abendausstellung “Das rote Bild”, organised by the ZERO group.

Having settled in Paris in 1961, Erb lived and worked there until 1975 in a studio he had built himself. During this period, he developed his work on the line and created linear light objects, solar sculptures and kinetic objects, pursuing an exploration that spans several forms and media. In 1977, he took part in documenta 6 in Kassel.

Solo exhibitions followed over several decades: at the Kunstmuseum in Hanover in 1980, the Pfalzgalerie in Kaiserslautern in 1983, “Frühe Zeichnungen” at the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum in Ludwigshafen in 1992, and “Leo Erb. Zeichnungen 1947–1992” at the Saarland Museum in 1993. A retrospective is recorded at Villa Zanders in 1997, and in 2001 the Museum für Konkrete Kunst in Ingolstadt presented “Bei Weiss muss man Farbe bekennen”. The government of Saarland awarded him the title of professor in 1993; in 2008, he received the Kunstpreis des Saarlandes for visual arts, officially presented on 5 April 2009.

This profile brings together identity references for Leo Erb and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.

1 references are documented at Germann. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.

Works recorded at auction

Germann

Life and death of the line, 1974

Pencil drawing

Original catalogue wording

Vie et mort de la ligne, 1974
Bleistift-Zeichnung.

Date to be documented

Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed

View the lot at the auction house ↗

Sources and references

• Reference record
• LoC · Public domain (id.loc.gov authority metadata; link only)
• Documentary source
• Documentary source
• Documentary source

SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19