The Fifth Chamber | Katelyn Davida Mariah

The Fifth Chamber: Art, Medicine & the Alchemy of Becoming, a solo exhibition by St. Paul–based artist, award-winning author, and visionary herbalist Katelyn Davida Mariah. The exhibition features 40 paintings created over the course of a nine-year healing journey that became a profound initiation of the heart.

This body of work began in 2016 following a life-altering medical crisis that included five heart attacks and open-heart surgery. During a long and complex recovery, Mariah turned to art and alternative healing practices as essential supports. Drawing from plant medicine, energy work, and non-traditional healing modalities, she entered a deeply intuitive creative process that helped restore both her physical health and her relationship with her own heart.

Over the course of this healing period, Mariah created more than 110 paintings centered on the anatomical heart. The works featured in The Fifth Chamber weren’t made with the intention of documenting illness or recovery but rather emerged as part of the healing itself with each painting acting as a witness, a threshold, and a step toward integration and repair.