Alexander Tovborg's Dual Exhibitions Critique Greed Through Hallucinatory Iconography

Alexander Tovborg presented two concurrent solo exhibitions in New York in late 2017, exploring themes of greed and morality through complex symbolic works. At Nicelle Beauchene Gallery from October 12 to November 12, his five-panel painting 'ALTARS OF HUMANITY (the symbol has resurrected) the worship of mammon' (2016–17) featured allegorical imagery including dinosaurs, Noah's Ark, satellites, and clock faces set at 11:58, rendered in luminous colors on felt collaged onto wood. At Blum & Poe from September 15 to October 28, works like 'MAMMON (the symbol has resurrected) neutral angel, atlantis & pregnant capitalist' (2017) comprised central panels paired with drawings, depicting avatars of Mammon such as 'hérnan cortés', 'the 1%', and 'president elect', with literal elements like Donald Trump's face as a grotesque. Tovborg's approach references biblical Mammon from Matthew 6:19–24, aiming to critique venality with a hallucinatory vision that draws on traditions from Mayan reliefs to artists like Wassily Kandinsky, Hilma af Klint, and Xul Solar. His iconography, while sincere and non-preachy, is noted for its obtuse complexity, with critics comparing it to Matthew Ritchie and Matthew Barney's self-referential systems. The exhibitions together form an exegesis on greed's historical march, though they risk decorative excess and add little practical insight into overcoming human enslavement to materialism. The review appeared in the December 2017 issue of ArtReview.