Wender·Vista
Monterrey
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMexico
in northeast Mexico, under the Saddle Mountain

Monterrey

— a city the sierra keeps watch over.

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 capital of Nuevo León, held inside a bowl of the Sierra Madre Oriental, with Cerro de la Silla rising on the eastern edge. Industry below, limestone above. The summer afternoons run hot, and the storms come down off the ridge fast. By evening the lights come on along the Paseo Santa Lucía, and the city slows for a few hours.

from the studio
Monterrey
— bring it home

Monterrey, 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 Monterrey

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

Monterrey is the capital of Nuevo León and the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico, with roughly 5.3 million people across its surrounding municipalities. It sits at about 538 metres of elevation in a valley of the Sierra Madre Oriental, ringed by Cerro de la Silla to the east and the Cumbres de Monterrey National Park to the west. Founded in 1596 by Diego de Montemayor, it grew into the country's industrial centre under the Garza Sada families in the late nineteenth century. The Santa Catarina River cuts the city east to west.

the stone

The Sierra Madre Oriental that frames the city is folded Cretaceous limestone, the same rock that gives Cerro de la Silla its four-peaked silhouette and the cliffs of La Huasteca their pale grey faces. Cumbres de Monterrey National Park, established in 1939 and expanded in 2000 to about 177,000 hectares, protects most of the surrounding range. The limestone weathers into deep canyons and slot rivers — Matacanes, Hidrofobia, Chipitín — that climbers and canyoneers from across the country come to walk in the rainy season.

the visit

The Macroplaza in the centro is one of the largest civic squares in the world, covering about 40 hectares, with the Catedral Metropolitana and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey along its edges. The Paseo Santa Lucía, a 2.5-kilometre artificial canal opened in 2007, links the plaza to Parque Fundidora, the Compañía Fundidora de Fierro y Acero steelworks converted into a public park in 2001. Summers run hot, often above 35°C; winter and early spring are the easiest seasons. The international airport is fifteen minutes from the centro.

where
Mexico · Monterrey, Nuevo León
elevation
538 m · 1,765 ft
position
25.6866° N · 100.3161° W
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.
5 km E
Cerro de la Silla
mountain
3 km E
Parque Fundidora
park
18 km W
La Huasteca
canyon
12 km SW
Chipinque
mountain park
N
Monterrey
Cerro de la Silla
Parque Fundidora
La Huasteca
Chipinque
common questions

What people ask.

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

Cerro de la Silla rises 1,820 metres above the city's eastern edge with four uneven peaks — the silhouette that gives it its Spanish name, Saddle Hill. The shape is folded Cretaceous limestone, eroded over roughly 90 million years.

The Monterrey metropolitan area holds about 5.3 million people across thirteen municipalities, the third-largest urban region in Mexico after Mexico City and Guadalajara. The city proper sits at roughly 538 metres of elevation, inside a valley of the Sierra Madre Oriental.

The city was founded on 20 September 1596 by Diego de Montemayor, under the name Ciudad Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Monterrey, honouring the Count of Monterrey, then viceroy of New Spain. Earlier Spanish attempts to settle the valley had failed.

A federally protected reserve of about 177,000 hectares west and south of the city, established in 1939 and expanded in 2000. It holds the limestone ranges, slot canyons, and old-growth forest that frame Monterrey's skyline.

A 2.5-kilometre artificial canal opened in 2007 that links the Macroplaza in the centro to Parque Fundidora. Small boats run it from afternoon into evening. Fundidora itself is the former steelworks, converted to public park in 2001.

about the piece in your home

It carries well for regiomontanos and people with northern Mexican roots — Cerro de la Silla is the silhouette every regio reads on the horizon. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note suits a kitchen wall or home office.

The piece holds the warm ochres and slate greys of the sierra under a hard summer sky. It settles into Southwestern, Mexican-modern, and earth-tone Mediterranean rooms, and sits comfortably against terracotta tile or unfinished oak.

A single Large reads from across the room above a console. Above a full sofa, a 4-tile Mural carries the sierra's horizon line; a 9-tile Mural is the right scale for a wide great-room wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and built for steam and splash, so a Medium or Large works above a vanity, behind a sink, or on a kitchen backsplash.

A soft microfibre cloth and clean water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so the image cannot lift or scratch off in normal household care.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece comes from a single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, painted in our stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language by Reid Wender. The work is not licensed from any other artist or stock library.

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