Gilded Eden: A Celebration of Art, Nature, and Transformation October 24 – Nov 9, 2025 MAC on MAIN

Muskoka artists Col Mitchell and Wendie Donabie invite the public into a shimmering world of imagination and reflection with their upcoming exhibition, Gilded Eden, at MAC on Main Gallery, October 24 to November 9, 2025. Visitors are warmly welcomed to the opening reception on Saturday, October 25, from 4-7 PM. Guests are encouraged to come gilded.

Gilded Eden is a shared vision: a sanctuary where beauty and fragility converge. The exhibition invites visitors to cherish the natural world’s living riches while reflecting on what may be lost. Featuring an array of ink on sculpted paper works, paintings, mixed media, and textile work the show is both luminous and urgent, inviting visitors to see Earth’s creatures and landscapes as treasures to be cherished.

Col Mitchell presents her internationally recognized Pen and Ink on Sculpted Paper technique, alongside three-dimensional mixed media and installation pieces. Her layered surfaces evoke the resilience and vulnerability of the natural world, merging imagination with transformation.

Wendie Donabie, acting as both observer and interpreter, contributes paintings, collage, and mixed media works that echo her concern for species survival and habitat loss. Her prose and poetry, woven throughout the exhibition, respond directly to artworks and the theme, creating a dialogue of image and word.

“It’s a celebration of the wonder of our natural world,” says Mitchell. “The works are an invitation to pause and imagine how wonder might guide us as caretakers of Earth’s living treasures.”
“Gilded Eden is both luminous and urgent,” adds Donabie. “It asks us to reflect on what we cherish, and what we cannot afford to lose.”

Motifs throughout the exhibition include:

· Gold and silver: luminous symbols of Earth’s majesty rather than commodities to exploit.

· Gemstone-inspired details: suggesting the brilliance of nature’s living jewels.

· Shades of pink: a gentle reminder of fragility, and the planet's vulnerability.

· Shells: whispering of what vanishes when ecosystems are overlooked.

This collaboration marks a meaningful union of two established Muskoka artists whose distinct practices share a deep reverence for the Earth. Together, they offer an immersive and unforgettable experience. Where wonder meets warning and beauty becomes a call to action.

Event Details

· Exhibition Dates: October 24 - November 9, 2025 (Artists present throughout)


· Opening Reception: Saturday, October 25, 4 - 7 PM