Wender·Vista
Goma
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileDemocratic Republic of the Congo
on the north shore of Lake Kivu, at the foot of Mount Nyiragongo

Goma

— — the city the volcano keeps watching.

— 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

“A city of more than a million on the north shore of Lake Kivu, where the lake meets the volcano. Nyiragongo's lava lake glows above the rooftops on clear nights; the 2002 and 2021 eruptions are still legible in the black rock that runs through neighbourhoods. The Rwandan border is a five-minute walk from the centre of town.

from the studio
Goma
— bring it home

Goma, 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 Goma

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

Goma is the capital of North Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and the southern flank of the Virunga volcanoes. The city sits at about 1,500 metres elevation and crosses straight into the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi at the Petite Barrière and Grande Barrière crossings. Population estimates range above one million, swelled by displaced families from the long conflict in the surrounding hills. Mount Nyiragongo rises 18 km to the north, its summit holding one of the world's most persistent active lava lakes.

— informed by Wikipedia: Goma
— the stone

Goma's streets, walls, and yards are built on and out of black volcanic rock. The 2002 eruption of Nyiragongo sent lava through the city centre, destroying about 13% of the urban area and the airport's main runway; the January 2021 eruption again sent flows toward the city and forced an evacuation of roughly 400,000 people. Cooled lava is the local building stone, quarried, cut, and stacked into compound walls, and the runway at Goma International was rebuilt on top of the 2002 flow. The black rock is the city's most honest material.

— the water

Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes, the deepest stretch reaching 480 metres, with the Congolese-Rwandan border running through its waters. The lake is unusual: dissolved methane and carbon dioxide are trapped in its lower layers in volumes scientists track carefully, since a destabilising event could be catastrophic for the two million people on its shores. Methane extraction by KivuWatt off the Rwandan side now powers part of the regional grid. From Goma's lakefront the water turns silver at dusk and you can see the lights of Gisenyi across a narrow inlet.

— informed by Wikipedia: Lake Kivu
— where
Democratic Republic of the Congo · Goma, North Kivu
— elevation
1,500 m · 4,921 ft
— position
-1.6792° S · 29.2228° E
— 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.
1 km E
Gisenyi
city
18 km N
Mount Nyiragongo
volcano
25 km N
Virunga National Park
national park
N
Goma
Gisenyi
Mount Nyiragongo
Virunga National Park
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Goma is the capital of North Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the north shore of Lake Kivu. The Rwandan border crosses at the edge of town into Gisenyi.

Mount Nyiragongo is about 18 km north of the city centre, with one of the world's most persistently active lava lakes at its 3,470-metre summit. The glow is visible from Goma on clear nights.

The January 2002 eruption sent lava through central Goma and destroyed about 13% of the city. The May 2021 eruption forced evacuation of roughly 400,000 people before the flow stopped at the airport.

Lake Kivu holds large dissolved volumes of methane and carbon dioxide in its deep layers, a result of volcanic activity along its floor. A sudden release would threaten the two million people on its shores.

Population estimates exceed one million, swelled by families displaced from the long conflict in the eastern Congo hills. The city has grown rapidly since the early 2000s, well beyond its planned footprint.

Climbs of Nyiragongo are organised through Virunga National Park when the security situation allows, an overnight trek to huts at the crater rim. Access has been suspended at various points since 2021.

— about the piece in your home

Goma is a place people carry quietly: aid workers, Congolese diaspora, Rwandan neighbours across the border. A Small or a Coaster Set with a handwritten studio note honours the place without flattening what it is.

The black volcanic palette under lake silver reads well in moody minimalist, jewel-tone maximalist, and modern global rooms. The piece carries weight; it asks for a wall with breathing room around it.

Yes. Collected, place-specific art from outside the usual European or coastal canon is central to the global-modern direction. The Medium works on a gallery wall beside other place-pieces from across the atlas.

A Large reads well above a console. Above a full sofa, a four-tile Mural anchors the wall; a nine-tile Mural becomes the room's focal piece when the wall has the height and width for it.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both are scratch-resistant and stand up to humidity and splash, suitable for showers, backsplashes, and powder rooms. Glossy is for dry walls and framed display.

A soft microfibre cloth, dry or barely damp. No solvents or abrasive pads. The colour lives inside the ceramic surface beneath a thin protective layer, so the piece cleans like a tile.

Yes. Each WenderVista piece is curated and signed off by Reid Wender at the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not license imagery in or out; every place enters the atlas by his hand.

— if this one stayed with you

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