Tag: Fuller

Fuller Goes to Washington

Published on by Jonathan Crowe
A crop from Gareth Fuller’s pen-and-ink pictorial map of Washington, D.C., published as The DMV in 2025.
Detail from Gareth Fuller, “The DMV” (2025). Pen and ink on cotton board, 120 × 120 cm.

Gareth Fuller’s latest creation is “The DMV,” a pictorial map of Washington, D.C., and the neighbouring bits of Maryland and Virginia (hence “DMV”).

Created over twelve months, including three months of on-the-ground exploration in 2023 and creation in 2024, this artwork becomes the fourth capital city within the ongoing series, Purposeful Wanderings. The third time capturing an entire region on canvas. And the very first artwork depicting the United States of America.
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From its very beginning, Washington, D.C. has sat at the centre of American national identity, politics, conflict, compromise, and power. But it doesn’t work alone: it’s the wider region that sustains the Capital. The DMV—D.C., Maryland, and Virginia—isn’t just a geographic label; it’s a cultural badge, a collective effort shaped by the reach of the Metro, the sprawl of the Beltway, and the unique, fluid neighbourhoods that define its borders. These observations have guided my exploration; the drawings seek to uncover what binds The DMV together and creates its unshakable sense of place.

As with Fuller’s previous works, prints are available at several price points.

I missed the previous installment of Fuller’s Purposeful Wanderings series, “Shanghai,” which came out in 2022.

Fuller’s Quarantine Maps

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Gareth Fuller: Quarantine Maps: Day 4
Gareth Fuller

Gareth Fuller, whom we first heard about thanks to his masterpiece London Town, is in the news again. Now based in Beijing, he found himself forced to self-quarantine for 14 days after returning from a trip to Kuala Lumpur. Fuller has mapped every place he has lived, so he spent his two weeks of isolation creating quarantine maps—one for each day. The maps are claustrophobic—his apartment is 590 square feet—metaphorical, even fantastical. They’re very much on-point in this age of self-isolation and social distancing. They’re available as a set of postcards for £14, which is considerably cheaper than his other limited edition prints.

Last fall Fuller released a tourist map of Pyongyang (BBC News). I seem to have missed his map of Beijing when it came out.

Previously: Fuller: London Town; Fuller Update.

Fuller Update

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Fuller, London Town, 2005–2015. Black ink on archival cotton board, 91 cm × 116 cm.
Fuller, London Town, 2005–2015. Black ink on archival cotton board, 91 cm × 116 cm.

The Bristol Post reports on artist Gareth Wood (aka Fuller), whose iconic London Town—now acquired (as an archival print) by the British Library—was preceded by a similar map of Bristol. An exhibition of his work, called Get Lost, will run from 5 to 26 May at the Palm Tree Gallery, 291 Portobello Road, London, W10 5TD. [WMS]

Previously: Fuller: London Town.

Update: BBC News on institutions’ acquisitions of Fuller’s art.

Fuller: London Town

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

fuller-london-town
Fuller, London Town, 2005–2015. Black ink on archival cotton board, 91 cm × 116 cm.

Fuller’s London Town is a pen-and-ink masterpiece of detail that took ten years to create. Unveiled last October, it’s been making the exhibition rounds and is currently at the Hoxtown Gallery in Holborn, London until April 30th. It’s also included, along with his map of Bristol, in Mind the Map, a collection of map art that came out last September from Gestalten. Prints of his work are also available: a print of London Town costs £600 or £2,500 depending on the size. More about Fuller (whose real name is Gareth Wood) here. [via]