Wender·Vista
Batumi
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileGeorgia
on Georgia's Black Sea coast, near the Turkish border

Batumi

— — a port that rebuilt itself in glass.

— 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

“The summer capital of Georgia, on the Black Sea, a few miles north of the Turkish border. A subtropical climate, palms along the boulevard, and a skyline that went up in a hurry after 2007. Old Batumi sits behind the new towers in low stone and shutter-painted balconies. Tamara Kvesitadze's Ali and Nino turn into each other every ten minutes through the evening.

from the studio
Batumi
— bring it home

Batumi, 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 Batumi

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

Batumi is the capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic on Georgia's Black Sea coast, about twenty kilometres north of the Turkish border at Sarpi. Population sits around 169,000. The city has been an important port since antiquity and was made a Russian Empire free-trade zone after 1878. Most of the modern skyline rose in a single decade after 2007 under a national programme of investment, producing the Alphabetic Tower, the Batumi Tower, and a five-kilometre seaside boulevard along the Black Sea front.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the stone

Two Batumis sit next to each other. Old Batumi, behind the boulevard, holds nineteenth-century stone facades with carved wooden balconies and shuttered courtyards, organised around Europe Square and Piazza Square. The new city is glass and steel: the 130-metre Alphabetic Tower carries the Georgian alphabet in a double helix, and the Ali and Nino kinetic sculpture by Tamara Kvesitadze, installed in 2010, completes a slow union and parting cycle every ten minutes through the evening on the boulevard.

— the season

Batumi sits in a humid subtropical zone, warmed by the Black Sea and sheltered by the Lesser Caucasus, with annual rainfall around 2,500 millimetres, the wettest of any major city in Georgia. Summers run hot and humid through July and August, with sea temperatures near 25 degrees Celsius. Winters stay mild but rain-heavy. The shoulder months of May, June, and September hold the most settled weather for the boulevard and the beach.

— informed by Wikipedia — Climate
— where
Georgia · Batumi, Adjara
— position
41.6168° N · 41.6367° 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 N
Alphabetic Tower
landmark tower
1 km N
Ali and Nino sculpture
kinetic sculpture
at the lake
Batumi Boulevard
seaside promenade
1 km N
Europe Square
old-town square
20 km S
Sarpi border
Turkish border
N
Batumi
Alphabetic Tower
Ali and Nino sculpture
Batumi Boulevard
Europe Square
Sarpi border
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Batumi is the capital of Adjara on Georgia's Black Sea coast, about twenty kilometres north of the Turkish border at Sarpi. It sits in a humid subtropical pocket of the southern Caucasus.

Most of the new towers went up after 2007 under a national investment programme. The Alphabetic Tower, Batumi Tower, and the seaside high-rises were built within a single decade.

A kinetic sculpture by Tamara Kvesitadze, installed in 2010 on the boulevard. The two figures slowly approach, pass through each other, and separate every ten minutes through the evening.

Winters are mild but heavy with rain. Batumi averages around 2,500 millimetres a year, the wettest of Georgia's major cities. May through September stays drier and warmer for the boulevard.

About 380 kilometres west of Tbilisi, roughly six hours by car or five hours by overnight train. A regional airport sits south of the city with seasonal European routes.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for Georgians abroad and for travellers who know the coast. A Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads both Old Batumi and the new skyline together.

The blues and warm-stone palette suit coastal-modern, jewel-tone maximalist, and European modern interiors. The piece anchors well against pale plaster, oak, and brass.

A single Large reads well centred above a standard sofa. For a longer console or wall, a 4-tile Mural carries the boulevard and the skyline more fully.

Yes. Order Dura Satin or Matte for humid rooms. The colour is held inside the ceramic surface, so steam and splash will not lift it over time.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our studio in Knoxville, hand-finished in-house, with no licensing or reuse of external imagery in the work.

— if this one stayed with you

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