On September 28th, at the Rodin Art and Culture Development Center in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, which was formerly the French Pavilion of the Shanghai World Expo, the grand opening exhibition “Rodin: The Inheritance of Modern Sculpture” featuring Rodin’s authentic work “The Thinker” was held. More than a hundred cultural and artistic works, including Rodin’s authentic works and his sculpture representative work “The Thinker,” have been imported and exhibited under the supervision and protection of Shanghai Customs, presenting an artistic feast for Chinese audiences.
Rodin’s authentic work “The Thinker” was showcased at the “Rodin: The Inheritance of Modern Sculpture” exhibition. Photo by Li Wenjie
This exhibition brings together 106 works including sculpture, painting, ceramics, and images. Among them, works such as “The Thinker,” “Bronze Age,” “Eve,” “Balzac,” and “The Gallardo Martyrs,” which are highly influential and representative in sculpture art, made their debut in Shanghai for the first time. The exhibition also features 16 Chinese artworks collected by Rodin himself, showcasing his love and emotions for Chinese culture.
Customs officers in Shanghai Free Trade Zone supervise the exhibited artworks. Photo by Li Wenjie
About 80% of the exhibits in this exhibition will be exhibited in the form of “bonded display and trading” in the special customs supervision area. The Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone Customs, under the jurisdiction of Shanghai Customs, intervened in advance and formulated the optimal plan based on the entry and exit plan of the exhibits. The entire process will be tracked to ensure the storage and exhibition of goods in and out of the zone. The supervision service experience of the previous CIIE will also be replicated and promoted to this exhibition, further expanding the spillover effect of the CIIE and releasing the economic vitality of the exhibition.
Since the beginning of this year, the total value of bonded cultural relics and artworks under the supervision of the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone Customs has exceeded 4.1 billion yuan, and the value of cultural and artistic products serving exhibitions outside the zone has exceeded 2.34 billion yuan.
More than 20 overseas exhibits of the exhibition will be cleared by the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Center Customs under the jurisdiction of Shanghai Customs. Jiang Wenbin, the head of the second department of customs exhibition supervision, introduced, “The exhibits this time are all very precious artworks, with high requirements for environmental temperature and humidity. It is not suitable to open and inspect them outside the dedicated venue, and multiple loading and unloading may also cause damage. We have innovated the port exhibition hall collaborative inspection mode, sent personnel to the exhibition hall for on-site inspection, and met the unique needs of precious exhibits in terms of environment, transportation, etc. At the same time, we have reduced the burden of exhibition by sending personnel for supervision, waived the need for organizers to submit deposits, and provided direct protection for high-value cultural relics and artworks to the exhibition hall