Wender·Vista
Chelyabinsk
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileRussia
in the southern Urals, where Europe meets Asia

Chelyabinsk

— — the city the sky woke up.

— 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

“A working city on the Miass River, a million people thick, with the Ural Mountains running quietly down its eastern edge. Most travellers know one thing about Chelyabinsk: the morning in February 2013 when a fireball crossed the sky and the windows let go. The rest of the year the light comes off the river slow and grey, factory steam rising into a cold blue. from the studio

from the studio
Chelyabinsk
— bring it home

Chelyabinsk, 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 Chelyabinsk

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

Chelyabinsk sits on the Miass River along the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains, the conventional dividing line between Europe and Asia. The city was founded in 1736 as a Russian fortress and grew through the 19th-century Trans-Siberian Railway and a wave of Soviet industry that arrived during the Second World War, when entire factories were evacuated east from Moscow and Leningrad. The metropolitan area now holds roughly 1.2 million people, making it one of Russia's larger cities and the administrative seat of Chelyabinsk Oblast.

— the year

On 15 February 2013 a small asteroid entered the atmosphere over the region and broke apart at about 30 kilometres altitude. The airburst released energy estimated near 500 kilotons of TNT, shattered windows across six cities, and injured roughly 1,500 people, mostly by flying glass. Dashcam footage from local drivers turned the event into one of the most widely recorded meteor strikes in history. A recovered fragment, weighing about 654 kilograms, is now displayed at the Chelyabinsk State Museum.

— the air

The city sits at about 220 metres elevation, on the leeward Asian side of the Urals, and the climate is sharply continental. January averages run near minus 14 Celsius; July climbs to the low twenties. Snow lies on the ground from November into April. Heavy industry, including the long-running Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant and the metallurgical works to the north, gives the winter air a particular weight — woodsmoke and cold iron — that distinguishes the city from its greener neighbour Yekaterinburg.

— where
Russia · Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia
— elevation
220 m · 722 ft
— position
55.1644° N · 61.4368° 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.
200 km N
Yekaterinburg
Ural city
6 km S
Lake Smolino
urban lake
130 km NW
Taganay National Park
Ural ridge park
N
Chelyabinsk
Yekaterinburg
Lake Smolino
Taganay National Park
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Chelyabinsk lies in the southern Ural Mountains of Russia, on the Miass River, about 200 kilometres south of Yekaterinburg and roughly on the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia.

It is widely known for the meteor airburst of 15 February 2013, when a small asteroid exploded above the city. The event injured roughly 1,500 people and was captured on thousands of dashcams.

The metropolitan area holds about 1.2 million residents, making Chelyabinsk one of Russia's ten most populous cities and the administrative centre of Chelyabinsk Oblast.

It was founded in 1736 as a Russian frontier fortress on the Miass River. The Trans-Siberian Railway reached the town in 1892, and Soviet-era industry transformed it during the Second World War.

The Miass River runs through the city. Lake Smolino sits on the southern edge, and the Ural Mountains rise to the west toward Taganay National Park, about 130 kilometres northwest.

Sharply continental. January averages near minus 14 Celsius with heavy snow cover, while July reaches the low twenties Celsius. Spring and autumn are short transitional seasons.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Chelyabinsk carries strong meaning for families from the region, and the artwork reads as a quiet tribute rather than a tourist piece. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note travels well.

The cool greys and steel-river palette sit naturally in Industrial Modern, Scandinavian, and Mid-Century Minimal rooms. It also grounds a warm-wood study where most of the colour comes from books.

A single Large carries a standard sofa or a console. For a longer wall, a four-tile Mural reads from across the room and gives the river line space to run.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and suited to vertical installation. The Glossy finish is best kept for framed wall art away from steam.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water. No abrasive sponges, no ammonia-based cleaners. The colour lives in the surface, so a simple wipe is enough.

Yes. The piece is curated and finished in our Knoxville studio, with no outside licensing. Reid chooses every place that enters the WenderVista atlas.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

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