From the organizers: The Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) Foundation will present its next art exhibition, NATURE! Embraced and Reimagined, at the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center from July 30 – September 9, 2022. This exhibit will feature two local artists, Jessica Ballenger and Vivian Fung. The public is encouraged to attend a reception in honor of the artists on Sunday, July 31, 2022, from 2–4 p.m. On view July 30 through Sept. 9, 2022. About the artists: Jessica Ballenger – Mixed Media Jessica Ballenger’s most recent body of work centers around nature’s inspirational and subliminal impact on the imagination. The images were created by transforming photographs taken on walks around San Diego parks into surreal and brightly-hued kaleidoscopic patterns. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts wallpaper prints of William Morris, 1960’s psychedelic posters, and quilting, the works are printed on wood, fabric, and paper to create a shift from the natural world to the digital image before, once again, becoming a new, concrete object. In this way, flora and fauna are estranged from their quotidian realm and reimagined in a new dreamlike reality. Jessica Ballenger’s work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions in California and Belgium. She received a B.A. in Visual Arts from UCSD. She lives and works in El Cajon, California. Vivian Fung – Photography Vivian Fung is a Harvard-trained biochemist with one formal semester of painting to her credit. The sole class imbued indelible lessons of color and light. “I am fascinated by the interplay of nature – everything from majestic landscapes to magnificent birds – and the illuminating paintbrushes of light.” Beauty in a Different Light is her guiding principle, and NATURE is EMBRACED through the loving arms of her FUNGtography. Her work has appeared in global travel magazines and local print media and can be found in corporate installations and private collections. NATURE! Embraced and Reimagined is FUNGtography’s second exhibition in San Diego. Related links: Mission Trails Regional Park on Instagram Mission Trails Regional Park art program information
