George Herms, West Coast Assemblage Pioneer, Dies at 90

George Herms, a founder of the West Coast Assemblage movement, died on April 24 at age 90. Known for sculptures and collages made from found materials and debris, his work blended pathos and humor. Born in Woodland, California in 1935, he studied engineering at UC Berkeley before dropping out in 1954 to join the Beat scene in Topanga Canyon. There he helped Wallace Berman produce the journal Semina and started his own Love Press. His first assemblage exhibition, Secret Exhibition, was held in a vacant lot in Hermosa Beach in 1957. Herms gained national recognition in 1961 when included in MoMA's The Art of Assemblage. Over seven decades, he showed at venues including MOCA Los Angeles (2011), Morán Morán (2013), Louis Stern Gallery (2013), and Susan Inglett Gallery (2019). Public works include Portals to Poetry (1989) in downtown LA and Clocktower: Monument to the Unknown (1987) in MacArthur Park. Another sculpture, Moon Dial, was removed from Beverly Hills Park after 18 months. Despite early accolades, Herms remained underrecognized; writer Mat Gleason called him one of LA's most underrated art stars. Recent exhibitions paired him with younger artists like Marco Barrera, Agathe Snow, and Terence Koh. He was featured in the Getty's first Pacific Standard Time initiative in 2011.