When working with stone and wood, sculptors usually undertake a meticulous preparatory process that involves sketching or modelling the intended sculpture in clay or wax to visualize the final piece; not Casey McCafferty. The New Jersey-based sculptor takes a more intuitive and spontaneous approach, working directly with wood or stone, guided by the material's natural form and his own creative instincts, an idiosyncratic process that makes his surreally elaborate, masterfully hand-crafted creations even more special. Featuring thrusting hands, popping eyes and jutting noses, his anthropomorphic objects confound as much as delight—not only do they merge human anatomy elements with organic forms and mythological motifs, they also blur the boundaries between furniture design and sculptural art. The sculptor’s surreal iconography and unconventional exploration of natural materials is currently on full display at Gallery FUMI in London where he presents his latest series of work. Titled “Head Hand Foot”, the sculptor’s solo exhibition marks his first major showcase in the UK as well as celebrates the announcement of his global representation by FUMI.

Although McCafferty comes from a family of stone masons, he fell in love early on with wood and its unique sculptural possibilities. A self-taught sculptor, he developed his own distinctive style, using a range of chisels and mallets, most of which he has highly customised, to create his signature lexicon of softly rounded biomorphic forms. “One of my favourite tools is a 70-year-old draw knife I found in a Californian flea market," he says. “It has a really long blade, and you hold it in both hands, drawing the knife towards your body to take off shavings, to round things off”. The intimate physicality of the process bestows each piece with a soulful tactility, in effect making it an extension of his physical self. Improvised and spontaneous, McCafferty doesn’t know where a piece will end up once he starts carving.

Drawing inspiration from mythology, folklore and ancient art from across the world, McCafferty seamlessly blends figurative and abstract forms imbuing his work with a primitive sensibility. Embracing a design language of nebulous organic shapes out of which elements of human anatomy emerge, his sculptures appear to belong to an unidentified ancient civilization but at the same time give the impression that they are natural formations sculpted by the wind and waves. Adding to their mystique, the human-like forms that he incorporates into his works speak of the interconnectedness of humanity. “My interest in body parts comes from ancient art, from Greek to Oceanic, and the way it implies a collectively among people”, as he explains.

Standout works include the “Cairn Table”, a walnut dining table in the middle of which McCafferty has carved out a ripple-like hole where he has placed a sculptural object made out of Brazilian soapstone, “Head Hand Foot”, a norm-defying sculptural object which, as the name suggests, whimsically combines a head, hand and foot, and “Throne Chair”, a majestic seat in oiled walnut which features a totem-like back-rest. In fact, totemic forms make an appearance in quite a few pieces, either as standalone forms or as part of seats or side tables, encapsulating the artist’s fascination with prehistoric art.

A coffee table in ash wood that has been oxidised to create a greyish weathered finish speaks of the artist’s unconventional exploration with natural materials and traditional techniques. “I like using natural applications that work with the tannins in the wood and create a new colour,” says McCafferty.

The exhibition also presents a series of cabinets in ash and oak, his first since he walked away from his role as a provider of high-end furniture for architectural interiors. “The cabinets I create now are a 360-degree canvas, with figurative features on all sides, and even in the interior,” he explains. Made to be seen front, back and side, the hand-carved cabinets are dotted with strange forms eerily bulging out of the main body.

Rounding up the sculptor’s new body of work on display at Gallery FUMI are a series of sinuous mirror frames in oiled cherry and walnut, along with a number of sculptures on the brink of figuration and abstraction. The latter may lack the functional aspect of the rest of the works but they nevertheless are exemplary of the artist’s ethos – as he poignantly says, “I see myself as a crafts person who gets to do whatever he wants”, and that includes artworks, furniture and everything in between.