Wender·Vista
İzmir
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileTurkey
on the Aegean coast of western Turkey

İzmir

— — the white city that watches the gulf.

— 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 city built around a long curved harbour, the Kordon promenade running its inner edge. Old Smyrna, now Turkey's third city. Ferries cross the gulf at dusk and the clock tower at Konak keeps the same time it has since 1901. The light on the water reads silver more often than blue.

from the studio
İzmir
— bring it home

İzmir, 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 İzmir

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

İzmir sits at the head of a long, deep gulf on Turkey's Aegean coast, the country's third-largest city with roughly three million residents. The site is ancient Smyrna, occupied for some 8,500 years and tied in tradition to Homer. Modern İzmir runs along the curve of the bay, framed by the Bozdağ range inland and Kadifekale, the Velvet Castle, on Mount Pagos above the old city. Ferries cross between Konak, Karşıyaka, and Bostanlı throughout the day. The climate is hot-dry Mediterranean, with the harbour rarely seeing a winter freeze.

— informed by Wikipedia — İzmir
— the light

The Aegean light at this latitude carries a soft chalkiness; the sea reads silver almost as often as blue. Painters from the late Ottoman period through the early Republic worked the Kordon waterfront for this exact quality of horizon. In summer the heat haze flattens the gulf into a long pale plane. In winter, after a wet front, the bay turns slate and the white apartment blocks lining the promenade pick up the cool light cleanly, the Kadifekale silhouette catching the last sun above the old city.

— informed by Wikipedia — Aegean Sea
— the visit

Konak Square anchors the city centre, marked by the Saat Kulesi, the Ottoman-style clock tower presented in 1901 for Sultan Abdülhamid II's twenty-fifth jubilee. From the square, the Kemeraltı Bazaar reaches inland through covered streets that have served as a market since the seventeenth century. The Roman Agora of Smyrna sits a short walk uphill. Ferries from Konak Pier remain the most pleasant way to cross to the north shore, with regular departures throughout the day to Karşıyaka and Bostanlı.

— where
Turkey · İzmir, İzmir Province
— position
38.4192° N · 27.1287° 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.
85 km W
Çeşme
coastal town
80 km S
Ephesus
ancient ruins
100 km N
Pergamon
ancient city
40 km NE
Manisa
city
N
İzmir
Çeşme
Ephesus
Pergamon
Manisa
— common questions

What people ask.

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

İzmir occupies the site of ancient Smyrna, among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Mediterranean. Tradition names Smyrna as the birthplace of Homer, and the Roman Agora ruins still sit in the old city.

The Saat Kulesi in Konak Square was completed in 1901, presented to mark the twenty-fifth year of Sultan Abdülhamid II's reign. It stands about twenty-five metres tall and remains the symbol of the city.

Kemeraltı runs inland from Konak Square through a network of covered and open streets that has served as İzmir's main market since the seventeenth century. The route follows the curve of the old harbour shoreline.

Kadifekale, the Velvet Castle, is the fortress on Mount Pagos above the old city. The site has been fortified since the era of Alexander the Great; the current walls are largely Byzantine and Ottoman. Views run across the whole gulf.

Late spring and early autumn carry the city's most temperate weather, with the sea still swimmable and the summer haze gone. July and August are hot and dry; the bay can sit flat for weeks.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers send these to family or friends with İzmir roots. The Kordon, Konak Square, and the clock tower carry strong personal meaning across the Aegean diaspora. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note travels well.

The cool silvers and Aegean blues sit well with Mediterranean-modern, coastal-modern, and Levantine-eclectic rooms. The stained-glass facets also hold their own in a more maximalist palette built around warm whites and aged brass.

The Aegean coastal palette has shifted into the broader coastal-modern category over the last few seasons. The tile's silvered blues and white architecture read clearly within that direction, without the saturated turquoise of Caribbean-leaning pieces.

A single Large reads cleanly above most consoles. Above a standard sofa, a four-tile Mural carries the wall; a nine-tile Mural fills a true feature wall. The composition holds at every scale.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and suit vertical installations: backsplash, shower surround, powder-room wall. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall pieces away from steam.

A soft microfibre cloth with water handles everything. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface beneath a thin protective finish, so household cleaners are unnecessary and the image will not fade with washing.

Yes. Every piece in the WenderVista atlas is curated and signed by Reid Wender from a single Knoxville studio. The art is not licensed and not reproduced from third parties; each tile is hand-finished in-house.

— if this one stayed with you

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