Dalar Alahverdi, Andrea Brewster, Charlie Milgrim – Assemblies of Absence
October 10 – November 15, 2025
- Oakland Style Week Tour: Saturday, October 11, 11:30- 12
- Artists’ Reception: Saturday, October 18, 3 – 5 pm
- Oakland Art Murmur / First Friday: Friday, November 7, 5 – 9 pm
- Artists’ Talk: Saturday, November 15, 2 – 3:30 pm
“Assemblies of Absence” unites three artists whose work explores presence, absence, and what is often overlooked. Charlie Milgrim constructs oversized nests from discarded materials that ironically propose how birds and wildlife repurpose former items of utility from our built environments. Andrea Brewster’s botanical-inspired works explore beauty, transience, and transformation, capturing the fleeting vibrancy of life while highlighting the delicate balance between fragility and resilience. Brewster’s practice bridges natural and technological worlds, suggesting that imagination and innovation are crucial to the future of life on Earth. Dalar Alahverdi’s work addresses the erasure of personal and collective trauma, using interactive media to reveal stories that history often neglects, inviting viewers to actively witness and remember what might otherwise remain invisible. Collectively, these works create an “assembly of absences,” asking us to notice the unseen, reconsider overlooked narratives, and confront the delicate, transient, and often invisible threads shaping our world.
Dalar Alahverdi
Dalar Alahverdi is a mixed media artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work is deeply interactive, inviting viewers to engage directly with each piece to uncover hidden layers of meaning. Rooted in themes of human rights, collective trauma, and immigration, her art offers a powerful narrative on the complexities of personal and shared histories.
Alahverdi holds an MA in Art Education from California State University, Long Beach, an MFA from Yerevan State Academy of Arts in Armenia, and a BFA from the University of Tehran in Iran. She actively exhibits her work both in the United States and internationally, including at the Venice Biennale, Armenia International Art Exposition, and The Drawing Room, San Francisco.
Andrea Brewster
Andrea Brewster is a multidisciplinary artist who investigates the intersection of nature, fiber art, and technology through intricate forms and layered textures. Brewster earned a B.A. in Sculpture from Pomona College and an M.F.A. in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute. A 1993 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant recipient, she has exhibited widely in the San Francisco Bay Area, with solo shows at Mercury 20, The Lab, and Southern Exposure, as well as group exhibitions at Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, The Oakland Museum, and the Peninsula Museum. Her work has been featured in fiber art exhibitions in Ireland and the U.S. She participated in the Djerassi Resident Artist Program, and presented at the Doily Free Zone Contemporary Lace Symposium. In 2025, her AI work appeared at Load Gallery, Barcelona, and in the book “Neo Botanica.” She has been a member of Mercury 20 Gallery since 2020.
Charlie Milgrim
Charlie Milgrim is an Oakland based sculptor, installation artist, photographer and painter. She has had major solo exhibitions at OK Harris, New York City; Haines Gallery and Gallery 16, San Francisco; The Oakland Museum and the Richmond Art Center. She has been an active participant in the Bay Area arts community through exhibition and curation, and is a member of the Mercury 20 Gallery, where this will be her fifteenth solo show.