Khai Liew, born in Malaysia in 1952, died yesterday after privately fighting an illness.

He’s being remembered by leading South Australian creative figures as a visionary designer, a gracious and kind man, and a caring supporter of other artists.

Liew was best known for his furniture design, utilising natural materials like wood, stone, leather, grass and linen, and has been widely recognised for his contribution to the development of the modernist Australian design aesthetic.

His designs have been exhibited globally at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Design Museum, London, and the Triennale di Milano. In Australia, his work is part of the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, the Art Gallery of South Australia and the Art Gallery of Western Australia.

After immigrating to Australia in 1971, Liew worked as an antique furniture dealer and conservator before creating his bespoke furniture pieces.

In 1996, he established Khai Liew Designs on Magill Road in Norwood, where it remains today.

In 2010, he was awarded the South Australian of the Year Arts Award and in 2016 he was inducted into the Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame. In 2017, he received the Design Institute of Australia’s “Design Icon” Award, and in 2018, Liew was recognised as a Design Luminary at the INDE awards in Singapore.

JamFactory’s Khai Liew-designed retail space at the Lion Arts Centre, with the galleries, studios and workshop spaces beyond. Photo courtesy JamFactory

Recently, Liew contributed furniture to the redeveloped Kangaroo Island Lodge. He was first approached by James and Haylie Baillie who commissioned pieces for the original Lodge in the early 2000s. After the Lodge was destroyed in the devastating 2019/20 bushfires, Liew returned to contribute unique pieces “bringing his cultivated design language to produce useful, meaningful and delightful work that speaks of its time, place, people and culture”.

His work is regularly on display in South Australia, including at Samstag where the designer collaborated with Helen Fuller for an exhibition in 2022. Liew’s work will again be featured at the North Terrace gallery in collaboration with distinguished ceramicist Bruce Nuske for the 2024 Adelaide Festival.

2022 Adelaide Festival exhibition with Khai Liew, Samstag Museum of Art. Photo: Grant Hancock

In a 2012 essay for a collaborative exhibition done by Liew and Nuske, ceramicist Prue Venables said the furniture maker “celebrates so visibly the inherent beauty of wood, the texture, colour, even the scent of the material”.

“Years spent meticulously collecting and restoring furniture has facilitated the growth of his refined understanding of form and construction across time and many cultures,” Venables said.

“The result is furniture design of subdued elegance and deceptive simplicity that is invisibly underpinned by complex mitre joints of ancient Chinese origin.”

Private commission, Sydney, 2016. Photo: Grant Hancock

His death has led to tributes from figureheads of South Australia’s creative community, who have today remembered the artist’s contribution.

Art Gallery of South Australia director Rhana Devenport:

“It is with deep sadness, that the Gallery acknowledges the recent passing of the remarkable South Australian designer Khai Liew (1952-2023). This loss will reverberate across the country. Khai remains undoubtedly one of Australia’s most influential and visionary designers and he leaves an exceptional legacy. Staff at AGSA – past and present – are immensely saddened by this loss.

“Like many South Australian artists, Liew’s 50-year practice is deeply embedded in the history of our Gallery. It has been a tremendous privilege for AGSA staff to work so closely with Khai in many capacities over decades – as a brilliant designer, an inspired advisor, and a great friend. A curator’s designer, Liew will be remembered for his deep knowledge of Australian art history, impeccable connoisseurship, and generous collegiality. Liew combined his knowledge of the past with a deep appreciation of traditional craft-based practices to produce a unique and original contemporary Australian vernacular in furniture.

“He remains a shining light in Australian contemporary design. He leaves an outstanding legacy and has made an extraordinary impact nationally and internationally. He will be forever remembered as one of Australia’s most innovative, generous and nuanced designers. We have lost a gracious and true gentleman who was respected by all who knew him, and loved by many. Our thoughts are with his beloved family at this time.”

JamFactory CEO Brian Parkes:

“Khai’s first solo exhibition, Long Weekend, was at JamFactory in 2001 and his follow-up show in 2007, Tiersmen to Linenfold, remains one of the most impressive exhibitions at JamFactory in its 50-year history. In 2010 he was commissioned to redesign the JamFactory shop and over many years he provided mentorship and employment for many of the emerging designers and makers from JamFactory’s furniture program.

“Few people in the design industry have been as highly regarded for the consistent and uncompromising quality of their work. But more than this, Khai was respected across the sector as the most decent person anyone who had worked with him had ever met. He was softly spoken, quietly determined and a passionate advocate for the value and importance of craft skills. He will be long remembered as an icon of Australian design.”

Samstag Museum of Art:

Helen Fuller and Khai Liew, Tarntanya/Adelaide, South Australia,
2022. Photo: Grant Hancock

“Samstag Museum of Art is deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend – artist, designer, Samstag Board member, and extraordinary man of culture Khai Liew.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to all Khai’s family and his wide circle of friends.

“Khai’s original contribution to Australian design culture was memorable, and his role as an artistic collaborator with leading South Australian artists – typically discreet and intimate – highly influential.

“He will be deeply missed by us all, however, his work will continue.

“Samstag is delighted to be presenting Khai’s work for our forthcoming 2024 Adelaide Festival exhibition, in partnership with his friend, the distinguished ceramicist, Bruce Nuske. The Bruce Nuske and Khai Liew collaboration follows the wonderful 2022 Samstag exhibition by Helen Fuller with Khai Liew. This exhibition with furniture and exhibition design by Khai Liew is featured in the recently published Helen Fuller monograph.”

Arts Minister Andrea Michaels:

“I am incredibly sad to learn of the death of Khai Liew and my thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

“Liew was an incredible artist and an innovator, with his award-winning and beautiful work at the forefront of architectural design.

“His memory will live on through his magnificent works which can be viewed in galleries across Australia including in the Art Gallery of South Australia.”

Adelaide Central School of Art CEO Penny Griggs:

“Khai was a South Australian treasure. He was highly regarded nationally and internationally and his contribution to the Australian art and design sector cannot be overestimated. He was also a gentle and caring supporter of fellow creatives. He will be deeply missed.”

Australian Institute of Architects South Australian branch executive director Nicolette Di Lernia: 

“Khai had a consummate understanding of materials and proportion as well as the ability to distil his ideas to achieve beauty through simplicity.  He worked with many architects during his career and was a generous collaborator.  His work will continue to be enjoyed and treasured by all those who experience it.”

South Australian arts critic and author John Neylon:

“W.H. Auden observed that the arts are our chief means of breaking bread with the dead. Without that communication, he added, a fully human life is not possible. How appropriate is this perspective when considering Khai Liew’s legacy.

“Within his timeless designs, the voices of generations of artists, patrons and a diversity of cultures, from ancient Egypt to Scandinavian modern, whisper. In a world drowning in a sea clogged with worthless objects and flat-pack convenience, his designs have offered an alternative – a glimpse of that thread of beauty that runs like an artery through the dreams of all who desire some sense of continuity and of belonging to something greater than the here and now.

“To assign that task to something as simple as a chair, table or sideboard might seem unrealistic, but Khai Liew’s finely calibrated designs are up to the task because they have a life of their own and we enjoy being in their company. And so his legacy lives on.”

Jess Loughlin, artist:

“Khai was the most beautiful person I have known. His generosity and vision was extraordinary. Working together, he deeply understood my work, brought it to a vision beyond my imagination, and yet always trusted in everything I did. Khai was amazing at bringing people and ideas together.”

Andrew Rogers, award-winning Adelaide-based industrial designer:

“I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Khai Liew. His substantial contributions to the small yet vibrant Adelaide design community have left an indelible mark.

“His enthusiastic commitment to delivering high-value, quality furniture from South Australia has always been admirable.”

Authentic Design Alliance:

“With profound sadness, Australia bids safe passage to a master craftsman, gentleman and one of the most talented designers of his generation Khai Liew who very sadly passed yesterday after a privately fought illness.

“Our thoughts go to his friends, family and colleagues at this time.”