Awarded the South Australian of the Year Arts Award by the Government of South Australia in 2010 and inducted into the Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame in 2016, Liew received the Design Institute of Australia’s “Design Icon” Award in 2017 and was recognized as a Design Luminary in 2018 at the INDE awards in Singapore.
Liew elevated furniture design to a high art in Australia and beyond. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, the Art Gallery of South Australia, and the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Internationally, his work is included at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London); the Design Museum (London); the Triennale De Milan; and the Osaka, Tokyo, Dubai, Sydney, Vienna and Yokohama Louis Vuitton stores as part of the brand’s in-house collection.
Born in Malaysia in 1952, Liew migrated to Australia in 1971. After studying economics at Flinders University, he followed his passion and quickly became an expert conservator of and advisor on Australian colonial and Barossa German furniture. A developing interest in modern furniture design saw him buying and selling Japanese and European design classics until the establishment of his design practice, Khai Liew Design, in 1997. During this early foundational period, Ron Radford – then the director of the Art Galley of South Australia – became Liew’s friend, patron and advocate. Throughout his career, Khai Liew constantly expanded his knowledge of the history of furniture, particularly timber furniture, gaining a deep understanding of its sensory qualities. His furniture designs conveyed meaning by combining a reverence for timber with highly refined detailing and joinery. He strongly believed furniture, particularly chairs, could tell stories. His Alice and Friend in Wonderland and exquisite Sunflower chairs are excellent examples.
Liew’s furniture, lighting, objects and interiors stand apart for being provocative as well as vernacular. His furniture demonstrates his interest in the detail and materiality of timber; simple linear and planar elements are arranged to produce an intimacy and an engagement with the body. These qualities were celebrated at Liew’s early, seminal solo exhibitions: Long Weekend – Khai Liew Contemporary Furniture (2001), Tiersman to Linenfold (2007) at Adelaide’s Jam Factory, and 190 pieces of furniture (2016) commissioned for philanthropist Judith Neilson’s home, Indigo Slam.
Liew’s impact on Australia’s design scene was wide-ranging and surpassed the design of innovative and beautiful objects. He was both generous and gracious with his time, assisting and mentoring emerging generations of students, designers and craftspeople. His legacy will continually remind us that the world we create around us has the potential to provide meaning, happiness and emotional wellbeing.
He is survived by his children, Jian and Remi Liew.
