East meets nest in arena

In the long, controversial run-up to the Beijing Olympics, the West has been exposed to an awful lot of contemporary Chinese visual art. It has been made by young artists who in turn have only recently been exposed to the work of the 1990s generation of Brit Artists and much of it has been clumsily derivative. However, this hasn't stopped an eager market buying up their work - and consequently pushing up their market value to dizzying heights. Only the very few who have produced uniquely stand-out work have so far made a name for themselves in Britain.

Now the V&A has decided to focus on the new breed of young designers and these offer up a far more interesting slice of Chinese contemporary culture. Organised around three major cities of Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai, the exhibition shows how each city has become a creative hub for each particular design activity.

Graphic designers especially have formed collectives in Shenzhen (particularly noteworthy are Taddy Ho's modernist posters, using Chinese characters), while the fashion industry has really taken off in Shanghai, a city once known as the Paris of Asia, or indeed, as the Whore of Asia. Beijing, meanwhile, is a city which is modernising so rapidly that you'll find some of the most radical architects working there. The Swiss-based architects Herzog & de Meuron's Olympic stadium, with its bird's nest of steel, already leads the way, offering inspiration for architects such as Ma Yansong, while Miao Xiaochun's series of architectural photographs celebrates the transformation.

As a last word, it's worth noting that, up until about 20 years ago, China did not even have a word for 'designer'. Instead, there were utilitarian 'artist designers' who worked directly for the communist government, often in a propaganda capacity. Rapid economic changes have, obviously, ensured an impressive creative flowering - and as a result it's certainly worth making a trip to the V&A if you want to keep abreast of what's really new.

Until Jul 13, V&A, Cromwell Road SW7, daily 10am to 5.45pm (Fri to 10pm), £8, £4 to £6 concs.
Tel: 020 7942 2000.
www.vam.ac.uk
Tube: South Kensington

China Design Now
Victoria & Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL