Heerich Erwin was born in 1922 in Kassel, where he spent his childhood. During high school he won a scholarship to the art school in Kassel. In 1941 he was drafted into military service in 1945 and released after multiple injury.

He resumed his artistic studies again in 1945 and till 1950 attended the State Art Academy Dusseldorf in the sculpture class of Ewald Matare. From 1950 to 1954, he studied there with Joseph Beuys and began his independent artistic work.

In 1954 he went to art school and worked as a freelance artist and as a teacher. In 1957 he became assistant of Matare in the Summer Academy of Oskar Kokoschka in Salzburg.

He was invited to the Art Academy in Dusseldorf in 1969, where he was professor emeritus until 1988. From 1974 Heerich was a member of the Academy of Arts Berlin. In 1978 he received for his work Will Grohmann Award in Berlin. In 1980 he began planning the buildings on the Museum Island in Neuss Hombroich and also created numerous sculptural works in public spaces. In 1987 he received the Max Beckmann Prize of the City of Frankfurt am Main.

2004 Erwin Heerich died after a long illness at the age of 81 years in Meerbusch-Osterath, near Dusseldorf.