Wender·Vista
Orinoco River
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileColombia
east of the Andes, along the Venezuelan border

Orinoco River

— — a river that drains a country of grass.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Most of the Orinoco's length runs through Venezuela, but the eastern third of Colombia drinks it. The river divides the two countries for roughly 1,200 kilometres, edging the Llanos — a tropical grassland the size of California. Pink river dolphins still surface in its slower channels. From Puerto Carreño the far bank is a flat green line that goes nowhere a road can reach.

from the studio
Orinoco River
— bring it home

Orinoco River, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Orinoco River

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Orinoco is South America's third-largest river by discharge, running about 2,140 kilometres from its source in the Sierra Parima on the Venezuela-Brazil border to its delta on the Atlantic. Roughly the eastern third belongs to Colombia, where it forms the border with Venezuela and drains the Llanos Orientales, the tropical grassland that covers about a quarter of the country. The Casiquiare canal, a natural waterway near the source, links the upper Orinoco basin to the Amazon's Río Negro.

— the water

The river runs clear, white, and black by tributary. The Río Inírida and Río Guaviare arrive black, stained by tannins from rainforest peat; the main stem carries Andean sediment and runs the colour of weak tea. Amazon river dolphins, called toninas locally, surface in the slower oxbows; they are pink-grey freshwater cetaceans unrelated to the ocean species. The river rises six to ten metres between the dry season and the September flood, drowning gallery forest along the banks for months at a time.

— the air

The Llanos along the Colombian Orinoco are flat to the horizon. The dry season runs December through April; the rest of the calendar the grasslands flood. Puerto Carreño, the capital of Vichada department at the confluence of the Meta and the Orinoco, is reached by a single road from Bogotá and a small airstrip. Temperatures stay near 30°C through the calendar. Capybara, caiman, and scarlet macaw are the common sightings; jaguar work the gallery forest along the river edge.

— where
Colombia · Vichada and Guainía, Colombia
— within
El Tuparro National Park
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Puerto Carreño
river port
60 km S
El Tuparro National Park
national park
at the lake
Río Meta
river confluence
300 km S
Inírida
town
N
Orinoco River
Puerto Carreño
El Tuparro National Park
Río Meta
Inírida
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Orinoco River — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The river forms Colombia's eastern border with Venezuela across Vichada and Guainía departments, roughly 1,200 kilometres of frontier. Puerto Carreño at the Meta confluence is the main Colombian river port.

The river runs about 2,140 kilometres from the Sierra Parima on the Venezuela-Brazil border to its Atlantic delta. By discharge it is the third largest river in the world.

The tropical grassland that drains east into the Orinoco. The Llanos Orientales cover roughly a quarter of Colombia, alternating six dry months with six flooded months on a flat horizon.

Yes. Amazon river dolphins, called toninas locally, surface in the Orinoco's slower channels and oxbows. They are pink-grey freshwater cetaceans unrelated to ocean dolphins, and protected throughout Colombia.

A 5,480-square-kilometre park on the Colombian side of the Orinoco, south of Puerto Carreño. It protects rapids, gallery forest, and Llanos grassland, and was declared a Monument of Humanity by UNESCO in 1982.

The Orinoco rises with the wet season, peaking in August and September. The water can climb six to ten metres above its dry-season level, drowning forest along the banks.

— about the piece in your home

It reads to anyone who knows the river or the grassland. The piece carries the green-and-brown horizon line that locals recognise without explanation. A Medium with a studio note travels well.

The earth-and-water palette suits warm transitional rooms, tropical-modern, and Latin American gallery walls. The greens and ochres sit comfortably against rattan, dark wood, and unbleached linen.

Yes. The current shift toward biophilic and tropical-modern rooms favours river and grassland palettes over straight botanical prints. The Orinoco piece carries that landscape without leaning on cliché.

A single Large reads cleanly above a console. Above a standard sofa, a 4-tile Mural opens the river horizon; for a longer wall, a 9-tile Mural carries the Llanos line.

Yes. Choose Dura Satin for a soft sheen that resists scratches, or Matte for a flat surface. Both handle steam and splash from a kitchen backsplash or guest bath.

A dry microfibre cloth lifts dust. For anything more, a barely damp microfibre and clean water. No solvents, no abrasive pads, no glass cleaner.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to a single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Reid Wender curates the atlas; the work is hand-finished in-house and never licensed.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.