Wender·Vista
Yakutsk
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileRussia
on the Lena, in eastern Siberia

Yakutsk

— — the city the cold keeps.

— 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

“Yakutsk sits on the left bank of the Lena River, about 450 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle. Built on permafrost that runs hundreds of metres deep, it is the coldest large city on Earth, where January means weeks below minus 40. The Lena freezes solid by November and becomes the winter road. The Mammoth Museum keeps tusks the summer thaw lifts each year.

from the studio
Yakutsk
— bring it home

Yakutsk, 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 Yakutsk

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

Yakutsk is the capital of the Sakha Republic in the Russian Far East, on the western bank of the Lena River. The city stretches across continuous permafrost reaching depths of more than 600 metres in places. Founded as a Cossack ostrog in 1632, it sits roughly 450 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle and counts a population near 360,000. Buildings stand on driven concrete piles to keep their heat from melting the ground beneath them. The Permafrost Institute runs a research tunnel ten metres below the surface, open to the public through most of the year.

— the air

January in Yakutsk averages around minus 38 Celsius, with regular drops past minus 45. The cold is dry; exhaled breath crystallises in mid-air as the local whisper of stars. The school day continues to about minus 50, and the central market sells frozen fish and milk in stacked blocks rather than packaging. Outside the city at Oymyakon, 925 kilometres east, the lowest reliably recorded temperature for a permanently inhabited place reached minus 67.7 Celsius in February 1933.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the season

The Lena freezes by early November and the river ice becomes a road into May, with truck convoys crossing to Nizhny Bestyakh on the eastern bank. Summer reverses the city: July highs reach the high twenties, and the Lena Pillars, 140 kilometres upstream, draw boat tours through cliffs of carved limestone. The annual Ysyakh festival on June 21 marks the solstice with osuokhai circle dances and kymys, the fermented mare's milk that the Sakha summer is built around.

— informed by UNESCO Lena Pillars
— where
Russia · Sakha Republic (Yakutia)
— elevation
95 m · 312 ft
— position
62.0339° N · 129.7330° 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.
140 km S
Lena Pillars
rock formation
3 km N
Permafrost Institute
research site
2 km C
Mammoth Museum
museum
925 km E
Oymyakon
settlement
N
Yakutsk
Lena Pillars
Permafrost Institute
Mammoth Museum
Oymyakon
— common questions

What people ask.

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

The city sits on the Sakha plateau, far from any moderating ocean, with clear winter skies that let surface heat radiate freely into space. January averages near minus 38 Celsius, and minus 45 nights are common.

Yes. The permafrost runs more than 600 metres deep in places. Buildings stand on driven concrete piles so their heat does not reach the ground; failed piles cause visible tilt across older blocks.

A 220-kilometre run of carved limestone cliffs along the right bank of the Lena River, about 140 kilometres upstream of Yakutsk. The site was inscribed by UNESCO in 2012 as a World Heritage natural property.

The river usually freezes in early November and stays frozen until May. During winter the ice carries truck traffic to the eastern bank at Nizhny Bestyakh, replacing the summer ferry crossing entirely.

The Sakha summer solstice festival, held on or near June 21 in a meadow outside Yakutsk. Osuokhai circle dances continue through the short night, and kymys, fermented mare's milk, is shared from carved wooden cups.

— about the piece in your home

It carries the silhouette of the Lena and the colour of a Siberian winter sky. A Small or Medium tile with a handwritten note from the studio reaches well to family who have moved abroad.

The cool blue-violet palette suits Nordic Minimalist, Cabin-modern, and Wabi-Sabi rooms. It holds its own against pale oak, wool, unfinished plaster, and the matte-black hardware common to alpine interiors.

A single Large tile centres a standard six-foot sofa. For longer walls, a 4-tile or 9-tile Mural extends the river horizon and the low sun line without crowding the frame above.

Yes. The Dura Satin and Matte finishes are scratch-resistant and suited to vertical installations behind a sink or inside a shower surround. The colour lives inside the ceramic itself.

A microfibre cloth and water. The colour rests beneath a thin protective finish inside the ceramic, so the surface tolerates regular wiping without losing tone or sheen over many years.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in the studio's own visual language by Reid Wender and hand-finished in Knoxville. Nothing in the line is licensed from another artist or stock library.

— 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.