Wender·Vista
Malaybalay
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tilePhilippines
high on the Bukidnon plateau, central Mindanao

Malaybalay

— — the cool city above the pineapple fields.

— 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 Bukidnon, sitting on a plateau in north-central Mindanao at around 622 metres. The air comes off the Kitanglad range to the west and the city stays cool when the lowlands don't. Pineapple fields run for miles in every direction. Up the hill above town, the Monastery of the Transfiguration holds a triangular concrete chapel that Leandro Locsin drew in the seventies, with Benedictine monks who still chant the hours. — from the studio

from the studio
Malaybalay
— bring it home

Malaybalay, 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 Malaybalay

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

Malaybalay is the capital city of Bukidnon province in the Northern Mindanao region of the Philippines, with a population of roughly 190,000 at the 2020 census. The city sits on a high interior plateau in north-central Mindanao at about 622 metres, ringed by the Kitanglad and Pantaron mountain ranges. It is reached by road from Cagayan de Oro on the north coast, roughly 91 kilometres away. The local economy runs on pineapple, sugar, and cattle.

— the air

Locals call it the summer capital of the south. The plateau elevation keeps Malaybalay several degrees cooler than the coast year-round, and the wind off Mount Kitanglad to the west carries the smell of pine and cut grass. Mount Kitanglad rises to 2,899 metres and is a UNESCO-recognised ASEAN Heritage Park, holding one of the last large stands of montane rainforest in Mindanao and the nesting range of the critically endangered Philippine eagle. The mountain air shapes how the city feels.

— the stone

Above the city stands the Monastery of the Transfiguration, a Benedictine abbey founded in 1983. Its church is a pyramidal concrete chapel designed by Leandro V. Locsin, the National Artist of the Philippines who also designed the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila. The triangular form rises against the green of the plateau, the interior lit from a high apex. The monks make a local Monk's Blend coffee and keep the daily office, and the chapel is open to visitors outside the canonical hours.

— where
Philippines · Bukidnon, Northern Mindanao
— elevation
622 m · 2,041 ft
— position
8.1570° N · 125.1280° 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.
25 km W
Mount Kitanglad
ASEAN Heritage mountain
6 km N
Monastery of the Transfiguration
Benedictine abbey
91 km N
Cagayan de Oro
port city
N
Malaybalay
Mount Kitanglad
Monastery of the Transfiguration
Cagayan de Oro
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Malaybalay is the capital of Bukidnon province in Northern Mindanao, on a high interior plateau about 91 kilometres south of Cagayan de Oro. It sits at roughly 622 metres above sea level.

The city stands on the Bukidnon plateau at about 622 metres, with the Kitanglad range to the west. The elevation and mountain air keep daytime temperatures several degrees below the Mindanao coast.

A Benedictine abbey above Malaybalay, founded in 1983. Its pyramidal concrete chapel was designed by National Artist Leandro V. Locsin and is open to visitors outside the canonical hours of prayer.

Mount Kitanglad is a 2,899-metre mountain west of Malaybalay, recognised as an ASEAN Heritage Park. It holds montane rainforest and is part of the nesting range of the Philippine eagle.

Roughly 190,000 people at the 2020 census, spread across a large land area of barangays around the city centre. It is one of the larger inland cities in Mindanao.

Pineapple, sugar, and cattle ranching dominate the surrounding lowlands. Del Monte's plantations sit in nearby Bukidnon municipalities, and rangeland still stretches across the plateau north of the city.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Malaybalay carries strong ties of place for Bukidnon families and for anyone who has lived on the plateau. A Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well as a Christmas or housewarming piece.

The palette runs green, cool blue, and pineapple gold. It sits well with tropical-modern, mid-century Filipino interiors, and rooms that already carry rattan, dark hardwood, or piña linen.

Yes. Tropical-modern and biophilic rooms read this kind of place-art as a grounding piece, particularly when the colour links to a real plateau rather than a generic tropical motif.

Above a sofa, a single Large reads well; a 4-tile Mural carries a wider wall. Above a console or a sideboard, a Medium or a 9-tile Mural grouped tightly works for a longer room.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and built for vertical installation in damp rooms. Glossy is reserved for framed wall art in dry spaces.

Microfibre cloth, warm water, no abrasives and no ammonia. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface so it does not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made in our Knoxville studio. We do not license or resell other studios' work.

— 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.