Wender·Vista
Marina Beach
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIndia
along the Bay of Bengal in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Marina Beach

— — six kilometres of sand the city walks at dusk.

— 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 long urban beach of Chennai, six kilometres of sand running north to south along the Bay of Bengal. At dusk the promenade fills with families, vendors selling sundal and bajji, and kite-flyers. The lighthouse blinks out over the surf. Statues of Tamil leaders line the road behind. The Anna and MGR memorials hold the south end; the old Ice House and the university the north.

from the studio
Marina Beach
— bring it home

Marina Beach, 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 Marina Beach

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

Marina Beach runs along the Bay of Bengal in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu, on India's southeast coast. The stretch of sand reaches roughly 6 kilometres from Fort St. George in the north to Foreshore Estate in the south, with a sand belt up to 400 metres wide at low tide. It is widely cited as the second-longest urban beach in the world. The Cooum and Adyar Rivers frame the city to the north and south. The promenade was laid out by Governor Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff in 1884.

— informed by Wikipedia: Marina Beach
— the visit

The promenade carries a sequence of monuments along its inland edge, including statues of Kannagi, Thiruvalluvar, and Subramania Bharati. The Anna Memorial and the MGR Memorial mark the southern end, honouring two former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu. The Madras Lighthouse, in operation since 1977, replaces an earlier light removed from the High Court tower. Vivekanandar Illam, the former Ice House at the north end, hosted Swami Vivekananda in 1897. Public swimming is restricted because of strong rip currents; most visitors walk the sand at dusk.

— the water

The Bay of Bengal here stays warm in every season, averaging 28 degrees Celsius in summer and 26 in winter. Rip currents and a steep underwater shelf make swimming dangerous, and the city posts warnings along the promenade. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami struck Marina Beach on 26 December, killing more than 200 people on the sand and reshaping the foreshore. Monsoon rains arrive with the northeast monsoon between October and December, bringing storm waves and occasional cyclones across the bay.

— where
India · Chennai, Tamil Nadu
— elevation
6 m · 20 ft
— position
13.0500° N · 80.2824° 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.
3 km N
Fort St. George
colonial fort
4 km SW
Kapaleeshwarar Temple
Dravidian temple
55 km S
Mahabalipuram
UNESCO shore temples
160 km S
Pondicherry
former French colony
N
Marina Beach
Fort St. George
Kapaleeshwarar Temple
Mahabalipuram
Pondicherry
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Along the Bay of Bengal in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu, on India's southeast coast. The beach runs about 6 kilometres from Fort St. George in the north to Foreshore Estate in the south.

Roughly 6 kilometres along the Chennai shoreline, with a sand belt up to 400 metres wide at low tide. It is widely cited as the second-longest urban beach in the world.

Statues of Kannagi, Thiruvalluvar, Subramania Bharati and other Tamil cultural figures line the inland edge. The Anna Memorial and the MGR Memorial mark the southern end, honouring two former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu.

Swimming is officially restricted. Strong rip currents and a steep underwater shelf make the water dangerous, and the city posts warnings along the promenade. Most visitors walk the sand or watch from the road.

Yes. The Indian Ocean tsunami struck on 26 December 2004 and killed more than 200 people on Marina Beach alone, reshaping the foreshore and damaging the promenade. A memorial near the lighthouse marks the loss.

The promenade was laid out in 1884 under Governor Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff, who widened the shoreline road and added the pedestrian walk. Subsequent monuments and the present lighthouse were added through the twentieth century.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers with ties to Chennai or wider Tamil Nadu have ordered a Marina Beach piece. The shoreline reads as home for anyone raised in the city. A Small or Medium with a studio note ships well.

The Bay of Bengal palette suits Coastal-modern, Jewel-tone Maximalist, and warm South Asian rooms. Walls in deep teal, warm sand, or chalk white hold the stained-glass colours cleanly.

Subjects rooted in Tamil Nadu and Kerala have grown in diaspora interiors since the early 2020s. Marina reads as the recognisable Chennai anchor without the generic-beach feel.

A single Large covers most console runs. Above a sofa, a four-tile Mural reads at full scale; a nine-tile Mural fills a longer wall. The Medium suits an entry table or hallway.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any room with steam or splash. Both resist scratching and clean with a soft cloth and water.

A soft microfibre cloth and warm water. Skip ammonia, bleach, and abrasives. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and stays put under a thin glossy finish.

Yes. Reid Wender paints every WenderVista vista in the studio's stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language. No licensing, no third-party catalogue.

— if this one stayed with you

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