Khai Liew

Khai Liew arrived in Adelaide in 1971. His early pragmatism serendipitously led to a decades-long championing of Australian colonial furniture as an important component of our material culture. Liew has curated many significant private collections and provided expert material in several books and articles on the subject. Public collections in state and national art institutions now showcase numerous definitive examples of Australian pioneer vernacular furniture and objects provided and conserved by Liew.

Drawing on his cultural heritage and his experience and knowledge as a specialist conservator, Liew also designs furniture informed by the old and the new, the regional and the international. His works are synonymous with being beautifully crafted and always of their time and place. The production of limited editions and one off furniture commissions takes place in Liew’s Adelaide workshop, founded in 1996. The studio has also been an important training ground for the numerous emerging and experienced craftsmen who produce his work.

Liew’s designs and works have been widely published in many languages and collected both nationally and internationally. He has exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum London, The Design Museum London and the Triannale Di Milano Italy. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Australia, The Powerhouse Museum Sydney, The Art Gallery of Western Australia, The Samstag Museum Adelaide, Admiralty House Sydney and the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Liew is adjunct professor, School of Art, Architecture and Design, University of South Australia, Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia and in 2011 was awarded the South Australian of the year for the Arts Award for his important contribution to the state.