Design Daily: Silver Collection by Anzfer Farms
Author:Sarah Virginia WhiteNothing lights up a piece of wood like the glow of silver leaf, but the new functional works by Anzfer Farms highlight the unsung quality of the metal—its reflective nature.
By applying delicate sheets of silver leaf to low-hanging planks or parts of furniture, Anzfer Farms cofounders Jonathan Anzalone and Joseph Ferriso reflect bright swaths of rainbow color painted on the underside of each piece. The furniture glows from the inside out, especially the Silver Collection Coffee Table, in which a dark wood surface of salvaged plywood is split by a slim gash of riotous color.
Anzalone and Ferriso founded Anzfer Farms in the Outer Richmond district of San Francisco in 2009, creating a space that functions as a workspace and showroom all in one. Their newest collaboration, the Silver Collection, is made primarily from salvaged wood and was influenced by the color explorations of artists such as James Turrell, who plays with light and space, and artist Josef Albers, who painted with color straight out of the tubes.
Ferriso describes the new collection, currently in development with The NWBLK (pronounced “the new black”) in the Mission District, as a means to transport hidden color to the surface. “These functional works frame color events that are meant to change in different light conditions and from multiple vantage points,” he says.
What I like about these pieces is how the silver leaf is a tool for creating the illusionary surface. It makes you want to run your hand between the painted and leafed surfaces to watch the colors change.
