May might soon be coming to an end, but art lovers needn't worry—Hong Kong's Le French May festival now stretches well into the summer. Here are five exhibitions tied to the festival that you can see over the coming months

Ma Desheng

Tatler Asia
Above Ma Desheng, Manifestation of All (2007). (Courtesy of the artist and 10 Chancery Lane Gallery)

Ma Desheng has had a long and bumpy road to success. The Mainland Chinese artist is one of the founding members of the Stars Group, which organised two exhibitions in Beijing in the late 1970s that publicly challeneged the totalitarian government. These exhibitions were quickly quashed, and the authorities started monitoring Ma. In 1983, Ma fled the country and moved to Switzerland after being targeted by an “antispiritual pollution” campaign, which sought to suppress the spread of liberal ideas. He hasn't returned since—and never saw his parents again.

After a short time in Switzerland, Ma relocated to France, where his paintings and woodblock prints received critical and commercial acclaim. His works are now collected by M+ in Hong Kong, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the British Museum in London, among many other institutions. 

This exhibition at 10 Chancery Lane Gallery marks the 40th anniversary of the first exhibition hosted by the Stars Group. 

Until June 22. 10 Chancery Lane, Central, 2810 0065. 10chancerylanegallery.com

Pierre Soulages: Beyond the Black

Tatler Asia
Above Pierre Soulages, Peinture/Painting 74x165cm, 10.7.2013 (2013). (Courtesy of the artist and Alisan Fine Arts)

Hailed as "the world's greatest living artist" by former French President Francois Hollande, 99-year-old Pierre Soulages is a French painter, sculptor and engraver who is best known for his abstract paintings that explore the colour black. Since 1979, he has been focused on a series of paintings titled Outrenoirs ("beyond black"), which feature layer upon layer of thick black paint. 

This exhibition at Alisan Fine Arts is his first ever solo exhibition in Hong Kong.

Until June 29. 21/F Lyndhurst Tower, 1 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, 2526 1091. alisan.com.hk

See also: 10 Hong Kong Art Exhibitions To See In May

From Paris to Venice, a photographic journey by Willy Ronis

Tatler Asia
Above Willy Ronis, Les amoureux de la Bastille (1957). (Courtesy of Willy Ronis/Ministère de la Culture — Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine, dist. RMN-GP)

More than 500,000 people visited a retrospective exhibition of Willy Ronis's photographs in Paris in 2005, revealing just how loved and respected this photographer is in his home country. 

Working for more than 60 years—from the late 1930s to 2001—Ronis photographed everything from scenes of daily life in Paris to portraits of his wife to fashion shoots for Vogue Paris. This exhibition at the University Museum and Art Gallery at the University of Hong Kong showcases this breadth, featuring images taken throughout his career.

Until August 25. 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, 2241 5500. umag.hku.hk

Lines of Paris

Tatler Asia
Above Franck Bohbot, Salle Labrouste Bibliothéque de l’INHA Paris (2017). (Courtesy of the artist and YellowKorner)

Hosted at Arthur de Villepin's YellowKorner gallery, the group exhibition Lines of Paris features works by three French photographers who have all been inspired by the city of Paris: Franck Bohbot, Guillaume Dutreix and Laurent Dequick. 

Until June 30. 49 Hollywood Road, Central, 2578 5888. yellowkorner.com

City Poetry

Tatler Asia
Above Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze, 心心 - Emotion Shift (2018). (Courtesy of the artist and Blue Lotus Gallery)

French photographer Romain Jaquet-Lagrèze has made a career out of photographing Hong Kong's unmistakable high-rises and neon signs. 

This series, City Poetry, is his most personal project to date. While he was learning Cantonese, Jaquet-Lagrèze would take photos of Hong Kong's striking street signs, which he'd take home and translate with the help of his wife, a local Hongkonger. As Jaquet-Lagrèze's archive of images grew, so did his knowledge of Cantonese—every photo represents another phrase in his vocabulary.

The project was especially poignant because, while Jaquet-Lagrèze was taking these photos, his wife was pregnant with their first child, so he was learning one of the languages their child will be raised with. 

June 7 to July 7. G/F, 28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan, 6100 1295. bluelotus-gallery.com 

See also: Art Insider: Fred Scholle