LAMAMIMET

George Herms was born on July 5, 1935, in Woodland, California. Though he never attended formal art school, he absorbed the avant‑garde spirit of the West Coast Beat Generation, meeting figures such as Wallace Berman and Bruce Conner in the 1950s. Influenced by the idea that any cast‑off could become meaningful, he began creating assemblages that juxtaposed rusty, broken everyday items with poetry and humor.

Herms became a central figure in California’s assemblage scene, producing sculptures, collages, drawings, and theater pieces that critics likened to the work of Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, and Joseph Cornell. Over a career spanning six decades, he held numerous solo exhibitions at galleries across the West Coast and was celebrated for his ability to turn “shit into gold.” His work was featured in major museum shows and he was regarded as the “godfather of West Coast assemblage art.”

In addition to his studio practice, Herms taught studio art and sculpture at institutions including UCLA, UC Irvine, and UC San Diego, and served as an artist‑in‑residence at several universities and foundations. He continued creating and exhibiting until his death on April 24, 2026, at the age of 90, leaving a legacy of inventive, poetic art that reshaped perceptions of everyday objects.