{"id":81797,"date":"2026-05-13T17:56:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T17:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/81797\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T17:56:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T17:56:15","slug":"artisan-casey-mccafferty-talks-new-works-coming-to-brussels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/81797\/","title":{"rendered":"Artisan Casey McCafferty Talks New Works Coming to Brussels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Casey McCafferty<\/a> has carved out a place for himself in a corner of design where furniture, sculpture, and craft intersect. While the majority of his pieces are functional, many don\u2019t appear that way. Cabinets, for example, almost taunt users, daring them to figure out how to open the doors. Screens could be mistaken for a super-sophisticated Flintstones-style climbing wall. Seating doesn\u2019t seem to encourage lingering.<\/p>\n

McCafferty\u2019s pieces are muscular, animated, and somewhat unruly, which sets the self-taught artist apart from the rest of an increasingly crowded field. \u201cWhat you are seeing is what is actively alive in my head when I\u2019m carving,\u201d he explains. \u201cI\u2019m not trying to recreate something; it\u2019s a real thing happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Casey\"Casey<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCasey McCafferty.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Courtesy of Casey McCafferty<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Abstract\"Abstract<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSculptural wall panel by Casey McCafferty.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Courtesy of Casey McCafferty<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Abstract\"Abstract<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGaeta cabinet by Casey McCafferty.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Courtesy of Gallery Fumi<\/p>\n

McCafferty is currently creating a series of about 40 \u201csomewhat functional\u201d boxes for The Rooms<\/a>, an art and design fair taking place in Brussels<\/a> next month. Not one to sit still, he\u2019s also tinkering with motorcycles and minibikes while his three children (ages 1,4, and 7) often visit the shop. Visitors to his home are greeted by a large, sculptural wooden wall panel with protruding hands, that surprisingly has yet to garner any comments. \u201cI\u2019m always surprised there\u2019s no reaction,\u201d he says. \u201cLike this is something they see all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Blue\"Blue<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSculptural table in blue by Casey McCarfferty.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Courtesy of Casey McCafferty<\/p>\n

McCafferty was raised on Staten Island, in the same house his father, a New York City<\/a> firefighter, grew up in. He insists that \u201cthe most important factor in how I developed into who I am today is that my parents said that as long as you weren\u2019t getting into trouble, go outside and come back when it\u2019s dark out.\u201d He would often visit his father in the firehouse and, on occasion, was allowed to spend the night there. His dad was a DIY-type, and routinely enlisted a young Casey to help\u2014including on a tree fort in the back yard. \u201cMy dad made me feel like I did a lot of the work,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Unique\"Unique<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCairn table by Casey McCafferty.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Courtesy of Casey McCafferty<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Wood\"Wood<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClaro walnut and stone totem by Casey McCafferty.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Courtesy of Casey McCafferty<\/p>\n

After attending Wagner College in Staten Island, where he played rugby, McCafferty spent four years at Citigroup before moving to Los Angeles<\/a> with his wife. The intention was to establish residency in California and attend the College of the Redwoods. He never enrolled; his outreach to interior designers was successful enough that he had a steady stream of custom work. But he kept making what he describes as \u201cfunky\u201d pieces in his free time. An interior designer inquired about one of those designs, and he soon found himself on a new, more outrageous path.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Abstract\"Abstract<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSculptural bench by Casey McCafferty.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Courtesy of Gallery Fumi<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Wooden\"Wooden<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA piece in progress.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Courtesy of Casey McCafferty<\/p>\n

Today, McCafferty is back on the East Coast with a clientele that includes the likes of Kelly Wearstler,<\/a> Kelly Behun,<\/a> Pierre Yovanovitch,<\/a> and Rockwell Group.<\/a> He jokes that \u201cpeople think that I just carve everything from a giant tree, but everything I build, before I carve it, is basically giant chunky furniture.\u201d His 6,000 square-foot shop includes two employees, two dogs, and a small foundry for casting knobs and such. Wood pieces, especially cabinets, have become much more intricate, with carving on every possible surface, inside and out, and can take as long as four weeks to make. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Sculptural\"Sculptural<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCairn chair by Casey McCafferty.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Courtesy of Gallery Fumi<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Artisan\"Artisan<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMcCafferty at work.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Courtesy of Casey McCafferty<\/p>\n

A gorgeous wooden vanity, posted on his Instagram<\/a>, have many re-thinking stone\u2014a material the artisan has embraced just as long as wood. Yet he wishes his abstract sculptures got more attention. \u201cIt\u2019s the passion of sculpting, without the time pressure,\u201d he muses. \u201cWhen I hit the metal chisel with a metal hammer, it feels good in my hands and has a really nice sound. Almost like ASMR.\u201d<\/p>\n

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