For as long as there’s been art, there’s also been really, really tiny art. Yet miniatures are usually relegated to a tiny corner in a museum (pun intended). Which is exactly what makes Otherworldly, a current exhibition at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design, so wondrous: This just might be the largest exhibition of miniature contemporary art ever assembled, featuring 37 artists. In every corner, another tiny world.

One of the strangest facets of seeing the show is how durable the appeal of miniatures really is.