Guest Post | Magic: The Gathering in Miniature III

Welcoming Donny Caltrider with a note about his new gallery exhibition.

I’ve had the privilege of working with many wonderful people in my various hobby and career paths. Of them, few have been so brilliant or become such close collaborators as Donny Caltrider, a prodigy antiques dealer turned Magic: The Gathering art expert. From reading his early articles for Hipsters of the Coast to watching his work to help illustrators bloom, he’s astonished me year after year. We’ve even collaborated on a book proposal about collecting on a budget, with Donny leading the search for its agent.

In January and February 2023, Donny guest curated the first Magic: The Gathering in Miniature exhibition for Gallery Nucleus in the Los Angeles area. It was a smash success, and they ran it back for Magic: The Gathering in Miniature II in April and May 2024. This past Friday, they completed the trilogy when Magic: The Gathering in Miniature III opened. With prices starting at $300, it’s an opportunity to own unique work by artists such as Donato Giancola, winner of 23 Chesley Awards for illustration excellence, and Jody Clark, whose portrait of Queen Elizabeth II graced British coins from 2015 until her death.

That’s just my perspective, though. Better equipped to talk about Magic: The Gathering in Miniature III is the curator himself. Donny, take it away!

Opening this weekend in Los Angeles, CA is Magic: The Gathering in Miniature III, a 111-artist, 333-piece exhibition of Magic: The Gathering artist proofs, each gloriously illustrated by their original artist. The show will include artists from every continent except Antarctica, and span styles, mediums, and card types, an artistic celebration of the miniature masterpieces that make up this very specific sector of the larger hobby.

Scrappy Kobold [Minion of the Mighty] by Oriana Menendez

Artist Proofs are white-backed versions of Magic: The Gathering cards given exclusively to the artists whose artwork appears on the front. Those artists are allowed to sell and illustrate Artist Proofs freely. Since Magic’s inception, these versions have been collectible, but their explosion over the last five years, including this now third gallery showing, has cemented them into the legacy of multiple niches: of Magic: The Gathering, of artist proofs among collectible and trading cards, and within the subcategory of card-sized artworks (ATCs and ACEOs).

Gingerbrute [Gingerbrute] by Vincent Proce

For some artists, this show is their artist proof debut, and features the first opportunity to collect their work in this way:

Rose Melody [Alela, Artful Provocateur] by Phoebe Wahl

Zo-Zu the Punisher 2 [Zo-Zu the Punisher] by Mattias Lindstrom

For others, it’s a chance to do something completely different, and experiment in a safe place with new mediums, new subject, or new cards:

Bike Dragon [Aetherdrift Vehicle Token] by Devin Elle Kurtz

T-800 1 [Legion Extruder] by Kev Fang

And for a handful it’s their third show in a row:

Darksteel Colossus [Darksteel Colossus] by Carl Critchlow

Command Tower [Command Tower] by Titus Lunter

These artists are collectively raising the tide of this micro-genre, and with it the boats of all those who have come before them, and will come after. It’s a privilege to have put this together, and I’m really proud of all these pieces contributed by the folks from the game’s entire history.

A big thank you to John Dale for the Guest Spot here on White Chip Art. Be sure to subscribe to see other fantastic works by world-class artists that you can own, often for less than the cost of a restaurant dinner.

Loot, the Key to Everything [Loot, the Key to Everything] by Rudy Siswanto

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Magic: The Gathering in Miniature III, guest curated by Donny Caltrider, is on view at Nucleus in Los Angeles, CA from January 31, 2026 to February 15, 2026. Plenty of great works remain to be collected, and Nucleus ships anywhere in the world. If you have questions, reach out anytime at donald dot caltrider at gmail dot com or on any social network @DonnyCaltrider.