Beijing - Chinese art has been trendy in the west for a while, but now "a real hype" has developed, says Lorenzo Rudolf, creator and director of Shanghai's ShContemporary, Asia's largest art fair.

The Swiss art manager is riding on the crest of the wave, having elevated ShContemporary to its prominent position in only its second instalment, with 150 galleries from 25 countries participating.

Lorenzo believes Asia's art booms stems from the rapid economic development, which also brought a "certain liberalization."

The global art business, however, remains heavily, too heavily in his view, focused on the United States and Europe, where it enjoys a privileged existence.

His Shanghai fair, which runs through Saturday, now offers a platform where Asian art was not only shown but could be "set in a dialogue with western art," said Rudolf, who rose in the European art scene as head of Switzerland's Art Basel and the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany.

In China's young art scene "everything is present today," Rudolf says. "There are those who still aim for full-scale provocation, with unparalleled strength and power."

Others have found their style - and market - and produce mainly towards those ends.

"But then there are those who very seriously attempt to find themselves, again and again," says Rudolf, who personally professes excitement over the younger generation of Chinese artists in particular, who produce very conceptual works.

The cultural gap between east and west is narrowing. "All those artists, no matter where they come from, have their roots and their background," Rudolf says. "But contemporary art ultimately develops a language which is understood by other cultures."

Art can be a bridge, a door. "Today you can hang a Chinese, Indonesian or Indian artist next to a western work without any problems - and a dialogue develops."

A small shadow, however, hangs over the art fair - censorship. China's guardians of public moral banned Belgian concept artist Wim Delvoye from showing his eight live, tattooed pigs in the Outdoor Projects slot. A second, potentially immoral work was also censored.

While China's censorship is actually likely to boost sales, Rudolf believes the reasons for the censors crackdown are more likely to be found in the heightened sensibilities around the Olympics than in politics.

He advises not to overrate the censorship. "It is not as if censorship is overshadowing everything," he says.

Not only does Chinese art integrate into the global market, the buyers speculate like their western counterparts too.

"As today's art market expands, there is a constant influx of new money," the fair director said, adding that new and potential buyers are increasingly interested in contemporary art, driving up prices.

The Swiss, however, regards the current price rally as a temporary phenomena. "It will be put in perspective again and settle at a level where you can speak of normal market prices," he predicts.

While Chinese from Taiwan or other Asian nations have been active on the art market for a long time, mainland Chinese buyers are only just starting to catch up.

Five or six years ago, 80 per cent of works by Chinese artists were sold abroad. Today, the business ceases to be a one-way export and their is a balance.

"You see, it happens real fast," Rudolf says. When people stop talking about "Chinese art," like they stopped talking about "German" art a long time ago, "then China will be fully integrated, and we have a normal situation," he concludes. (dpa)