Adelaide-based designer Khai Liew, who was born in Malaysia of Chinese extraction, has a readily identifiable aesthetic in which the elements are a restrained natural palette, refined, pared-down sculptural forms and a superior use of natural materials. His harmonious, apparently simple, but highly sophisticated and resolved designs draw on an ever-proliferating array of influences, in which the Chinese/Scandinavian and early Australian strands remain prominent.

The series was also conceived to provide an opportunity for South Australian writers, and there is an accompanying essay by Peter Ward, who gives a thoughtful account of Liew’s evolution from dealer and conservator of early Australian and mid-twentieth-century Danish furniture to his relatively recent emergence as a designer. The inclusion of images of Liew’s references (a nineteenth-century Jimmy Possum chair, which inspired Liew’s Deloraine armchair in 1998, for example), as well as of the cabinet makers in the workshop and a detail of the internal construction of Liew’s favoured Ming Chinese (three-way) mitre joint are valuable additions.

Liew’s first exhibition in 2001 was well received, but it was the Tiersmen to Linenfold body of work for his solo exhibition in 2007 that created a wave of international interest. Given the level of Liew’s exposure (the cover story for Case da Abitare and other design publications), a consideration of his work within a global context would have provided an additional level of interest (and insight into the appeal of works by the designer).

With exceptional photography by Grant Hancock, Khai Liew is an essential addition to the reference collection of not only furniture design aficionados,but also of all those who appreciate objects of beauty.