05/01/2026
It is with admiration & prayers for his loved ones. Remembering George Herms
(1935–2026)
George Herms, Balcony, 1994, Wood and Found Object Assemblage, 31x 44 1/2 x 3 3/4 inches
Jack Rutberg Fine Arts is deeply saddened to learn of George Herms’ passing at the age of 90 on April 24.
George Herms was a leading figure of the L.A.Beat Generation assemblage movement. Its youngest and most enduring member, he employed disparate materials assembled together as acts of love. Indeed he signed his works with randomly placed ink- stamped letters: L, O, V, E.
George was prominently featured in significant early exhibitions of post-war Assemblage at the Museum of Modern Art (The Art of Assemblage, 1961), and the Pasadena Museum of Art (California Collage Show, 1962), cementing his importance in the movement’s history.
He was an integral part of the Whitney Museum’s major exhibition Beat Culture and the New America: 1950-1965 that coincided with his solo show at Jack Rutberg Fine Arts in 1995. More recently, George Herms’ works were included in our major 2025 exhibition, Sculptors: From Degas to Ruscha.
George Herms’ works will be included in our forthcoming exhibition celebrating those artists who are part of Pasadena’s artistic legacy.
JACK RUTBERG FINE ARTS
600 South Lake Ave., #102 Pasadena, CA 91106 Tel. (323) 938-5222
www.jackrutbergfinearts.com