Artist Name Alexander Tarasenko
Year of birth 1989
Place of Birth (city and country) Pyatigorsk, Russia
“The Last Carriage” is a group exhibition featuring mostly young artists who left Russia following the full-scale war in Ukraine launched by the Putin regime.
The phrase “to jump into the last carriage” evokes a narrow escape from danger — a chance to survive, to seize an opportunity for a better life. Each artist in the exhibition reflects this theme through their own personal experience.
We consider the Ben Uri Gallery an important and symbolic venue for the exhibition The Last Carriage. The Ben Uri Gallery is one of London’s recognised art institutions and a place with a distinctive history closely connected to the experience of emigration. Founded in 1915 by Lazar Berson, an artist who emigrated from Russia, the gallery has from its very beginnings supported artists who found themselves outside their familiar artistic environment due to forced departure/exile, social isolation, or political pressure. This experience closely resonates with the destinies of contemporary artists from Russia, Iran, and Turkey who have left their countries in recent years because of their opposition to war, repression, and authoritarian politics.
Presenting the project at Ben Uri makes it possible to establish a dialogue between past and present experiences of emigration and to continue the conversation about the role of art under conditions of displacement and the loss of a familiar context.
