Wender·Vista
Kutaisi
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileGeorgia
in western Georgia, on the Rioni River

Kutaisi

— — an old capital the river still runs through.

— 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 Rioni cuts a green seam through the middle of Kutaisi, fast and loud where it drops past the old chain bridge. Above the city, on its hill, the rebuilt Bagrati Cathedral catches the late sun. East in the hills, Gelati keeps its eleventh-century walls and the bones of King David the Builder. A small old capital that has done this for a very long time.

from the studio
Kutaisi
— bring it home

Kutaisi, 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 Kutaisi

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

Kutaisi is the third-largest city in Georgia and the historic capital of the Imereti region, set astride the Rioni River where the river leaves the Caucasus foothills for the Colchian plain. It served as the capital of the Kingdom of Colchis in antiquity and, later, the capital of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1008 to 1122. The David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport, about 14 kilometres west, has made it a common Caucasus entry point.

— informed by Wikipedia: Kutaisi
— the stone

Two great medieval works anchor the city. Bagrati Cathedral, consecrated in 1003 under King Bagrat III, crowns Ukimerioni Hill above the river; its long restoration completed in 2012 cost it the UNESCO listing it once shared with Gelati. Gelati Monastery, about 10 kilometres northeast and founded by David IV in 1106, still holds its World Heritage status and the tomb of its founder beneath the south gate.

— informed by UNESCO: Gelati Monastery
— the visit

Most visitors fly into Kutaisi International on low-cost routes from across Europe and use the city as the base for Imereti. Bagrati and the old town sit a steep but walkable hill apart; Gelati needs a taxi or marshrutka. Prometheus Cave and the Sataplia dinosaur-footprint reserve are both within a 30-kilometre drive. Late spring and early autumn are kindest; July afternoons in the Rioni valley hold above 30 degrees Celsius.

— informed by Georgia Travel: Kutaisi
— where
Georgia · Kutaisi, Imereti
— elevation
125 m · 410 ft
— position
42.2679° N · 42.7180° 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.
10 km NE
Gelati Monastery
UNESCO monastery (1106)
1 km N
Bagrati Cathedral
11th-century cathedral
20 km NW
Prometheus Cave
limestone cave system
N
Kutaisi
Gelati Monastery
Bagrati Cathedral
Prometheus Cave
— common questions

What people ask.

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

In western Georgia, on the Rioni River in the Imereti region, about 230 kilometres west of Tbilisi and roughly 100 kilometres inland from the Black Sea at Poti.

It was the capital of ancient Colchis, the land of the Golden Fleece legend, and later the capital of the unified Kingdom of Georgia from 1008 to 1122 under the Bagrationi dynasty.

An eleventh-century cathedral on Ukimerioni Hill above Kutaisi, consecrated in 1003 under King Bagrat III. A controversial 2012 restoration cost it the UNESCO listing it once held jointly with Gelati.

A monastery and medieval academy founded in 1106 by David IV, about ten kilometres northeast of Kutaisi. It holds UNESCO World Heritage status and the tomb of its founder beneath the south gate.

Most visitors fly into David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport, about 14 kilometres west of the city, on low-cost routes from across Europe. Marshrutka vans run frequently from Tbilisi and Batumi.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. For readers who grew up around the Rioni or who remember walking up to Bagrati, a Small or Medium with a short studio note carries the city's particular weight well.

It sits naturally in Old-World European interiors, in Caucasus-Heritage rooms, and in Jewel-tone Maximalist spaces where the cathedral ochres and river greens find their place.

Yes. The Heritage-Travel and Slow-Place turn in current décor pulls hard toward specific named places over generic motifs, and a Kutaisi tile reads as place-specific rather than generic Caucasus.

Above a standard sofa, the single Large reads cleanly. For longer walls or above a console, a 4-tile Mural holds the eye, and a 9-tile Mural carries a full feature wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and made for steam, splash, and daily wipe-downs in vertical installations.

A soft microfibre cloth and plain water. No sprays, no abrasives. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface, so it cannot wear off the way a printed surface would.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not licence the artwork, and no two place-pieces share a composition.

— 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.