Exhibition — Apr 4 until Sep 20, 2026

First extensive museum retrospective of Kho Liang Ie, who held a central position in Dutch design from the end of 1950s to the mid 1970s with his designs for furniture, presentation booths, and interiors. Living in Amsterdam, descending from a Chinese family that had lived in Indonesia for generations, he connected different styles from the US, Japan, the Netherlands, and Italy, among others. By approaching functionalism with his poetic touch and great sensitivity to materials, his designs never appeared overly austere.

He combined a timeless quality in what is now called “mid-century modern” with an open attitude. He collaborated with Gerrit Rietveld, Wim Crouwel, and Sheila Hicks, amongst others, and had just started a project with Norman Foster, when he passed away in 1975. As art director he introduced international designers like Pierre Paulin to the Netherlands. Several designs by Kho Liang Ie are still (or again) in production, such as furniture (Artifort), wall tiles (Mosa) and a slatted ceiling (Hunter Douglas), that has been in use at Schiphol Airport since the interior design by Kho from 1967.

Curated by Ingeborg de Roode, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in collaboration with Eng Bo Kho.