ArtistsDesign

Khai Liew's cultural mix from Adelaide furniture studio shows 'beauty is goodness written in matter'

Khai Liew's cultural mix from Adelaide furniture studio shows 'beauty is goodness written in matter'
Khai Liew with his entry for the 2015 Rigg Design Prize at the National Gallery of Victoria.
Image courtesy NGV Melbourne

From an understated studio in the Adelaide suburb of Norwood, Khai Liew’s furniture designs have been exhibited at worldwide institutions including the Victoria and Albert and Design museums, London, and the Triennale di Milano., as well as many Australian permanent collections.

Acknowledged in 2017 as one of 25 South Australian icons by the Design Institute of Australia, Liew brought a “sense of beautiful proportion” from his childhood home in Malaysia when he arrived in Adelaide at age 18.

But his Chinese-Malay influences were overlaid in Adelaide by becoming an expert in Australian colonial furniture. This came from collecting and restoring it simply to finance his university education. “It took me to country towns and auctions and the back streets of Tasmania. The furniture was unappreciated. I could fill a van for $100 and there was a limitless supply.”

After years working as a conservator and dealer specialising in colonial furniture, Liew began buying Danish furniture and studying mid-century furniture construction as well. This led to his first commission by then Art Gallery of South Australia director Ron Radford for gallery benches. It was closely followed by Liew’s first solo exhibition Long Weekend at JamFactory in 2001. Liew’s work also has joined the collections at the National Gallery in Canberra and Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum.

Liew’s studio, run with partner Nichole Palyga, drew on wider international styles: ancient Egyptian chairs, 14th century linenfold, Shaker austerity, 19th Century arts and craft, and Chinese and Japanese construction – but with the modernist reduction of Scandinavian design and abiding by the maxim: “Beauty is goodness written in matter”.

Liew’s – and Australia’s – biggest private commission was from Sydney Chinese art dealer and collector Judith Neilson for 190 pieces, including a 16-metre dining table of Brazilian cherry wood, 60 hand-carved dining chairs, rugs, standard lamps and table lighting, made without any restrictions and named Indigo Slam.

Liew’s most significant collaborative undertaking was the 2010 Collec+ors exhibition, at the Art Gallery of South Australia, that later toured to the London Design Museum. Liew saw it as a personal homage to South Australian artists such as Bruce Nuske, Jessica Loughlin, Julie Blyfield and Kirsten Coelho who had inspired him.

Other related ADELAIDE AZ articles

Maude Prosser in the early 1900s. Advertising her first Adelaide city craft business (top left) and later comparing her products (top right) to that in London and Paris. Examples of her wide range of craftwork.
Business B (20th Century) >
Maude Prosser's craft, needlework expertise turned into independent business in early 20th Century Adelaide city
READ MORE+
South Australian Cristina Tridente (inset) and some of her elegant creations that have gainied a high profile, including a dress (centre) made for Julia Morris on I'm A Celebrity Get me Outta Here television show 2022 season promotion.
Business C (21st Century) >
Cristina Tridente's skill weaves influences from world-wide into the fabric for fashioning South Australian icons
READ MORE+
The statue by William James Maxwell (inset) of Robert Burns next to the Mortlock Wing of the State Library on North Terrace, Adelaiude city.
North Terrace >
Robert Burns statue for Adelaide city in 1894 a labour of love by the Scots master sculptor William James Maxwell
READ MORE+
Brian Smyth was on the team that designed the VH Valiant Charger R/T E49 coupe 1971–73 at Adelaide's Chysler Australia plant.
Design >
Brian Smyth in design hall of fame for Valiant Charger at Adelaide Chrysler plant plus wider contribution
READ MORE+
Brink Productions' work has been taken up by many other theatre companies.
Design >
Brink Productions an actors' collective from Flinders University becomes an influential Adelaide theatre force
READ MORE+
Adelaide art educator James Ashton and one of his own seascapes: The moon enchanted sea (1910).
Education >
James Ashton profound Adelaide art educator with Norwood school, city academy, 40 years at Prince Alfred College
READ MORE+

 

 
©2025 Adelaide AZ | Privacy | Terms & Disclaimer | PWA 1.1.58