Khai Liew

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1952, and of Chinese descent, Khai Liew grew up in a large close-knit family headed by his maternal grandmother. Early memories of colonial English-style architecture in his hometown as well as his family home - which drew on a Japanese aesthetic and modernist principles- had a lasting impact on the young Liew. In 1971, the family immigrated to Adelaide.

Liew first encountered Australian historic furniture as a student at Flinders University in second-hand stores. He later established his business dealing in historic Australian furniture specialising in works in the Biedermeier/Barossa tradition. In 1996 Liew began designing his own furniture when he was commissioned by the then Gallery Director, Ron Radford AM to make a series of benches for visitors. Drawing inspiration from the work of Charles Rennie MacIntosh in the Gallery’s collection (944F2 and 944F3), these benches are still in circulation today and have facilitated many wonderous visitor encounters with the collection.

Over his career as a designer, dealer and curator, Liew has referenced numerous periods in his practice, supported by his academic knowledge of the history of decorative arts. Those influences include Scandinavian modernism, the ancient cultures of Egypt and China, the British Arts and Crafts movement, and Australian colonial furniture. His masterful work has long been characterised by deceptively simple shapes, employing ‘ideas of rhythm, musicality and repetition in form’. Liew carefully selects his materials and employs the remarkable skill of a team of expert cabinetmakers to realise his vision for contemporary furniture design.

Khai Liew was one of Australia’s most respected furniture designers, known around the world for his exquisitely crafted one-off commissions and short run editions of furniture. In 2010 Liew was awarded the South Australian of the Year Arts Award by the Government of South Australia and in 2016 he was inducted into the Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame, acknowledging his important contribution to the Australian furniture design landscape. In 2017, he received the Design Institute of Australia’s “Design Icon” Award, and in 2018, was recognised as a Design Luminary at the INDE awards in Singapore.

An expert in decorative and fine arts, Liew combined his knowledge of past traditions and his deep appreciation of traditional craft-based practices to produce a unique and original contemporary Australian vernacular in furniture.

Liew’s work has been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Design Museum, London and the Triennale De Milano. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, and the Art Gallery of Western Australia.

Rebecca Evans, Curator, Decorative Art and Design and Ingrid Goet, Vernon-Roberts Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts and Design (2024)