"Alexander Mott possesses a highly developed and subtly tuned mechanism of perception. What the retina detects becomes the basis of complex constructions, often far removed from the initial - and, recalling the ascetic and repetitive objects of his still-lives, quite typological - nature impulse. This mechanism has an underlying cause - a specific state of consciousness. This is something directed outwards, tenaciously recording the seen. It is sometimes directed inwards, metaphysical in character. Sometimes, it is on the borderline. This regulation is, I repeat, indirectly linked to the objective content of the still-life. Some works are quasi-objective, when the tactile component of the image plays the main role. Others gravitate towards the mirage. Their "sensing" and spatial-coordinating qualities are mystified; the representation of the visible is deceptive.

As in the paintings of Giorgio Morandi, the emptiness and the space between the objects are as weighty and sculptural as the actual objectivity. Still other works are speculative in character, an almost emblematic recording of corresponding states. The most important word here is perception - a very specific, very subtle and very purposefully tuned perception. Actually, it is the spirit of New York transformed into the traditional shapes of American pottery.

In a whole series of works, Mott visualizes this state in the form of pure visibilities - in the literal sense of the word, as if washed, clear and shining. These visibilities are pre-figural, pre-spatial and pre-temporal. At the same time, they are post-figural, post-spatial and post-temporal.

Alexander Mott does not require narrative, dramatic means to entice the viewer into the world of his urban still-lives. He simply offers to share the experience of rich and meaningful spatial-perceptive navigation inside meditation on the themes of NYC. Moreover, we, the viewers, cannot resist..."

Alexander Borovsky
Head of the Department of Contemporary Art,
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg