Charlie Milgrim: Urban Refuge

In Charlie Milgrim’s Urban Refuge installation, birds and other urban wildlife reclaim our human refuse for the fabrication of their nests. As animal habitats dwindle due to the ever-increasing density of housing development (recently mandated by California state legislation), our wildlife precariat in Milgrim’s imagined works survive by gathering up the stuff we discard to build their habitats.

Bio:
Charlie Milgrim is a multimedia artist from New York City who moved to the Bay Area to attend the California College of the Arts and later received her MFA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has had solo shows at OK Harris Gallery, New York; Haines Gallery and Gallery 16 in San Francisco; and the Richmond Art Center and Oakland Museum. Milgrim’s New York City roots combined with the Bay Area’s counter-cultural ethos, political and environmental activism, and passion for nature inform the themes and style of her work. Milgrim is active in the Bay Area arts community and exhibits her work in galleries and alternative spaces. For the past 15 years, Milgrim has been showing with the Mercury 20 Gallery in Oakland.

Gallery Hours: Fri and Sat, 12 – 5 pm
Artists’ Reception: Saturday, March 15, 3 – 5 pm
Artists’ Talk: Saturday, March 22, 4 – 5 pm
Oakland Art Murmur / First Friday: April 4, 5 – 9 pm

Image: Charlie Milgrim, Cap Bomb Nest, 2025, cap bombs and bocce ball, 5” x 14” x 14″ photo courtesy of the artist