After studying art and design at the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin, Nerlinger joined the Der Sturm gallery in Berlin. He headed the group The Abstract, later called The Contemporary, and in 1932 he joined Asso (Association of Revolutionary visual artists). Member of the Communist Party, his artistic career came to a halt with the Nazis and he became Professor at the College of Fine Arts in Berlin-Charlottenburg and published Bildende Kunst with Karl Hofer. In 1952 he worked in Stalin city and from 1955 at the Art Academy in Berlin-Weißensee.