Hans Erni can be considered among the excellent Swiss poster artists of the 40's and 50's. He was able to fuse a form of Realism with elements of modern art - an alluring, masterful game. He created a sweeping, structural form of communication. When he turned to poster art professionally, posters had not yet been invented as such. Erni also experienced the new boom of poster art. He attached, even into older age, a great deal of significance to graphic art, the possibility of multiplying an original work of art which is also affordable. From 1930 until the present, with an interruption from 1935 to 1950, Hans Erni created nearly 800 lithographs, many of which were published by the artist, others by well-known publishing houses. Almost all of his lithographs were printed in Zurich, by Matthieu Publishers, and since 1968-69 by J.E. Wolfensberger. His long experience in graphic techniques is corroborated by the prints we offer. Hans Erni learned this profession in 1929 at the age of 20 in Berlin, which brings us to his early beginnings.

A not insignificant part of Swiss history is reflected in paintings and posters. Thinking back on the 50's and 60's will bring to mind graphic works hanging in modern homes. They had replaced conventional wall decoration. The structural, prismatic character of his lines was remarkable. Hans Erni became beloved and popular through his graphic art. His public involvement was decisive in his career.

In the publication 'Hans Erni. Plakate 1929-1976. Ein Weg zum Nächsten (Hrsg. Kunstkreis Luzern 1976)' [Hans Erni: Posters 1929-1976, A Path to our Fellow People (Ed. artists' Circle of Lucerne 1976)], one can guess the artistic contents from the title. In 1987, 'Hans Erni. Werke 1979-1987' (Works) was published by ABC Verlag, Zurich, with an essay by Alfred H. Häsler. It shows his vivid contemporaneity and honors him with a retrospect.

Erni's message was for a world of human rights. Perhaps the only reminder we have of this today is his mural painting from 1939 for the national exhibit, an artistic contribution to the spiritual defense of his country. In it, he modernized the antique myth, not as a retreat to an idealized world, but as living democracy, a fighting humanism. At the left side of the painting are writers and painters, the presence of a cultural Switzerland. Today's observer may be overcome by a sensation of nostalgia at this portrayal of the worlds of art and literature: names such as Bührer, Loosli, Frankhauser, Ehrismann, Lesch (Cabaret Cornichon), Zollinger, Turel, Glauser, or Group 33, painters such as Wiemken, Camenisch, Haufler, Abt, Zurkinden, the Bern group Xylon mit Zbinden or the 'Allianz' group in Zurich, as well as Fischli, Bill, Loewensberg, Lohse and Leuppi. The painter Max von Moos and Hans Erni himself stand for Lucerne, both under the influence of the cultural philosopher Konrad Farner. Exiles also appear in the painting, cultural figures from every period can be seen in the theatre house of Zurich, as well as the publishers Oprecht and Dressler of the Gutenberg Book Guild. They were a series of contemporary figures with which Erni could identify. Often his political views were an obstacle to him. Erni had introduced into his modern art an awareness of socialist art, emphasizing social engagement. The entities commissioning him, public as well as private, ranged from the PTT, a trade union and consumer association, to the Swiss Ministry of Traffic. The poster on conserving water 'Save the Water' was an early warning. Erni was already denouncing the destruction of the environment. He also saw his social artistic commitment from this point of view. He had taken the challenge to heart as a graphic artist and painter. His style attracted attention like a signal, and the choice of motifs became a part of his pictorial speech, whether the message was about advice for the needy, appeals by Unicef or Terre des Hommes, or posters simply announcing the Lucerne music festival, the Zurich theater or exhibits (not least of all for his own). Hans Erni was in demand. His exhibit calendar was busy from the start: 1944 and 1972: Lucerne Art Museum, 1947: Wolfsberg Art Salon, Zurich, 1953: Galerie Kléber, Paris, 1957, 1962: Musée de l'Athénée Geneva, 1961: Tokyo. The 70's and 80's were filled with exhibits in Switzerland and abroad. A further hallmark was the establishment of the Hans Erni Foundation and the museum of the same name in the town of his birth, Lucerne, where he still lives in his old age today. ek