Wender·Vista
Taichung
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileTaiwan
in the middle of Taiwan's western coastal plain, under the Central Mountain Range

Taichung

— the warm city between the mountains and the strait.

— 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

“Taiwan's second-largest city, sitting on the western plain between the Central Mountain Range and the Taiwan Strait. The climate is the kindest on the island, subtropical and mild, with summers cooled by the mountains behind. The Theater that Toyo Ito finished in 2016 reads from a distance like a cave. Fengjia Night Market reads from a block away like all the food on Earth.

from the studio
Taichung
— bring it home

Taichung, 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 Taichung

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

Taichung sits on the western plain of central Taiwan, between the Central Mountain Range to the east and the Taiwan Strait to the west. The municipal population is about 2.85 million, making Taichung the country's second-largest city by some counts. The historic core grew around the Qing-era walled settlement laid out in the 1880s; the Japanese colonial administration redrew the grid in the 1900s and gave the city its current name, meaning 'middle of Taiwan'. Sun Moon Lake lies an hour east, in the foothills of the central range.

— the stone

The National Taichung Theater, completed in 2016 to a design by Toyo Ito and Cecil Balmond, took nearly a decade to build. Its 'sound cave' walls are continuous curved concrete, cast without right angles, and the structure has no straight load-bearing columns inside the public spaces. Ito received the Pritzker Prize in 2013 partly on the strength of this commission. The opera house seats 2,007, and the building anchors the new civic and cultural quarter on the city's north side.

— the year

Taichung anchors two annual rhythms that pull people from across Taiwan. The nine-day Dajia Mazu pilgrimage, beginning in late spring at Zhenlan Temple in Dajia District, walks an icon of the sea goddess Mazu roughly 340 kilometres south and back; UNESCO has called it one of the three largest religious events in the world. The Lantern Festival lights the lakes and parks every February or March, marking the end of the lunar new year, and the city's installation is among the most ambitious on the island.

— where
Taiwan · Taichung City, Taiwan
— elevation
84 m · 276 ft
— position
24.1477° N · 120.6736° 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.
55 km E
Sun Moon Lake
alpine lake
30 km SW
Lukang
Qing-era port town
7 km S
Rainbow Village
painted heritage settlement
160 km N
Taipei
national capital
N
Taichung
Sun Moon Lake
Lukang
Rainbow Village
Taipei
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Taichung sits on the western coastal plain of central Taiwan, between the Central Mountain Range to the east and the Taiwan Strait to the west. The city's population is about 2.85 million.

An opera house completed in 2016 to a design by Toyo Ito and Cecil Balmond, with curved concrete 'sound cave' walls and no straight load-bearing columns in its public spaces. It seats 2,007 across three halls.

A nine-day religious procession that walks an icon of the sea goddess Mazu roughly 340 kilometres south from Zhenlan Temple in Dajia District and back. UNESCO has cited it among the three largest religious events worldwide.

One of Taiwan's largest night markets, on the streets around Feng Chia University in northwest Taichung. It runs every evening and is best known for the density of local snack stalls along Wenhua Road.

A small group of military-dependents' houses on the southern edge of Taichung that the former soldier Huang Yung-Fu, born 1924, painted entirely by hand from 2008 onward. It is preserved as a public park.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. People who grew up in or moved away from Taichung tend to keep a specific image of the city: warm, mid-island, between the mountains and the sea. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note carries that well.

The piece's saturated colour and architectural lines sit well in Japandi, Modern Asian, and Jewel-tone Maximalist rooms. The tile holds against pale oak, black steel, and lacquered surfaces.

A single Large works above a console or a small sofa. A four-tile Mural fits cleanly over a full-length sofa; a nine-tile Mural anchors a long wall in a great room or restaurant.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for vertical installs where water reaches the surface, including showers, tub surrounds, and basin walls. The colour lives in the ceramic and will not lift with cleaning.

A microfibre cloth and warm water are enough for everyday dust and fingerprints. For kitchen splatter, a drop of mild dish soap is fine. Avoid abrasive pads and bleach on any of our finishes.

— if this one stayed with you

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