Wender·Vista
Kyiv
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUkraine
on the Dnipro, on the hills of the right bank

Kyiv

— — the gold the river still carries.

— 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

“Ukraine's capital sits on the high right bank of the Dnipro, the river that runs the length of the country down to the Black Sea. The old gold cupolas of Saint Sophia and the Lavra catch the sun above the bluffs, the same horizon they have held since the eleventh century. Below, the river bends wide and slow, and the city goes on, kept lit.

from the studio
Kyiv
— bring it home

Kyiv, 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 Kyiv

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

Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine, set on the Dnipro River about 600 kilometres upstream from where the river meets the Black Sea. The historic core climbs the high right bank in a series of hills, Starokyivska, Volodymyrska, and Pecherska, with the river spreading wide below to the lower left bank. Founding tradition places the city in the late fifth century. By the tenth and eleventh centuries Kyiv was the seat of Kyivan Rus' under Volodymyr the Great and Yaroslav the Wise.

— informed by Wikipedia: Kyiv
— the stone

Two eleventh-century complexes still anchor the skyline. Saint Sophia Cathedral, begun under Yaroslav the Wise around 1037, holds the largest surviving collection of original Byzantine mosaics and frescoes outside Hagia Sophia. The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, founded in 1051 as a cave monastery, grew into a hilltop complex of churches and bell towers above the Dnipro. Both were inscribed as a single UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990. The Lavra's Great Bell Tower runs about 96 metres above the bluff.

— the water

The Dnipro is the fourth-longest river in Europe, running roughly 2,200 kilometres from the highlands northwest of Moscow through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. At Kyiv it has already widened into a broad slow channel that splits around long wooded islands, Trukhaniv and Venetsiansky, connected to the right bank by pedestrian bridges. For most of the year the river is the city's other axis, walked and swum and skated on, and the sand beaches of Hidropark draw thousands on summer weekends.

— informed by Wikipedia: Dnipro
— where
Ukraine · Kyiv
— elevation
179 m · 587 ft
— position
50.4501° N · 30.5234° 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.
1 km W
Saint Sophia Cathedral
cathedral
3 km SE
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
monastery complex
1 km S
Maidan Nezalezhnosti
civic square
1 km W
Golden Gate of Kyiv
medieval gate
1 km N
Andriyivskyy Descent
historic street
N
Kyiv
Saint Sophia Cathedral
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
Maidan Nezalezhnosti
Golden Gate of Kyiv
Andriyivskyy Descent
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Founding tradition places the city in the late fifth century. By the tenth and eleventh centuries Kyiv was the seat of Kyivan Rus' under Volodymyr the Great and Yaroslav the Wise.

Saint Sophia Cathedral, begun around 1037, and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, founded in 1051 as a cave monastery. The two were inscribed together as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990.

The gilded cupolas follow Byzantine tradition, signalling sacred ground and catching sunlight from the river below. The Lavra's Great Bell Tower rises about 96 metres above the right bank.

The Dnipro, the fourth-longest river in Europe at roughly 2,200 kilometres. At Kyiv it has already widened, splitting around wooded islands between the high right bank and the lower left.

Ukrainian is the state language. Many residents are bilingual with Russian, though Ukrainian use in everyday speech has grown sharply since 2014 and especially since 2022.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The city carries a particular weight for Ukrainians and the diaspora, and a tile of the gold cupolas above the Dnipro lands quietly. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note works well.

The golds and deep blues sit well with jewel-tone maximalist, classic-traditional, and warm transitional interiors. The piece carries weight on a dark wall or above a dark wood console.

Yes. The deep blue river and the gold-leaf cupolas read directly into the jewel-tone palette favoured in current traditional and maximalist rooms. It pairs cleanly with brass and walnut.

A single Large reads from across the room above a console. Above a full sofa, a four-tile Mural or nine-tile Mural holds the wall. Smaller pieces sit better at eye level.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and stable in humidity and steam. The Glossy finish is kept for framed wall pieces only.

Wipe with a soft microfibre cloth, lightly damped with water. Skip household cleaners and abrasive pads. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, not on top of it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio, made under Reid Wender's eye, with no outside licensing. Each tile is hand-finished in Knoxville, Tennessee.

— if this one stayed with you

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