HONG KONG.- Le French May Arts Festival opened this year’s highlighted exhibition – Marc Chagall, Light And Colour In Southern France. This first exhibition in Macao dedicated to Marc Chagall features a selection of works (paintings, gouaches, lithographs, costumes and tapestries) which highlight the pre-eminence of light and colour in his creations.

One of the major artists of the 20th century, Marc Chagall (1887–1985), born in White Russia (present-day Belarus), settled in the South of France in the 1950s. His world is unique, nurtured by the many cultural influences encountered during his life and marked by war and exile. In tune with his time, his art embodies a universal message of peace. Borrowing from many 20th century art movements but never aligning with one, his oeuvre is distinct and instantly recognisable, with vivid colours and warm light inviting you on a journey to far and imaginary horizons.

Marc Chagall, Light and Colour in Southern France explores the omnipresence of light and colour in his work from the 1950s to the 1970s, inspired by the dazzling Mediterranean Sea and bright landscapes of the French Riviera. Marc Chagall had first discovered this region at the end of the 1920s. The intensity of the southern light had a profound effect on him, stimulating an artistic renaissance. Greece, where he travelled in 1952 and 1954, also became a source of inspiration. Colour, in an aesthetic and a symbolic sense, is essential to Chagall, an architecture within the composition and a vector of spirituality. A thematic renaissance was also to take shape, where mythical beings, mermaids, fish and radiant suns adorn his creations, providing a Mediterranean aura to the paintings.

Organised by the Macao Museum of Art under the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, this exhibition has been made possible thanks to the precious help of the Musee National Marc Chagall in Nice, Opera National de Paris, in collaboration with Bouquinerie de l’Institut, Cecile Leon Art Projects in Paris, and with the generous support of the Chagall Estate.

Established in 1993, Le French May is one of the largest cultural events in Asia. With more than 150 programmes presented across two months, it has become an iconic part of Hong Kong’s cultural scene that attracts over 1 million visitors each year. The objectives of Le French May are to touch everything, to be everywhere and for everyone.

To touch everything by showcasing the most diversified art forms: from heritage and contemporary arts, paintings and design, to classical music and hip-hop dance, cinema and new circus.

To be everywhere by bringing performances to various venues and districts, including the unusual and unexpected: from cultural centres and shopping malls, to public spaces, the racecourse and Victoria Harbour.

For everyone because the Festival aims to reach out to the entire community by developing educational programmes, talks, guided tours, workshops and masterclasses, including those that directly benefit the young and less-privileged.

For 26 years, Le French May has been both truly international and distinctly local and wishes to contribute to the unique appeal of Asia’s World City.

Le French May received the “Gold Award for Arts Promotion 2008” from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and received the patronage of the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau.