Rob Carter, “Camporicio” (2013), from the series “Sweetness and Light,” c-print mounted on dibond, 55 x 30 cm

Rob Carter, “Camporicio” (2013), from the series “Sweetness and Light,” c-print mounted on dibond, 55 x 30 cm

CHICAGO — Before centuries of modernization and industry settled in, Gentofte, Denmark, was a simple farming town under the vision of a single lord with 42 serfs. Over the past 200 years, Gentofte has evolved into what is rightly considered a suburb. In the exhibition New Garden City, curator Aukje Lepoutre Ravn seeks to connect the agricultural history of Gentofte with its rapidly modernizing technology and vision.

Agriculture used to be the dominant industry in Gentofte, but that was more than a century ago. What happened and why? New Garden City seeks to cast a new light on local history through an exhibition at contemporary art space Traneudstillingen and public projects designed around the themes of food production, communities, and rituals. The show features work by artists Kenneth BalfeltRob CarterSøren DahlgaardJette Ellgaard,Emil Westman HertzLearning SiteAllan Otte, and Troels Sandegaard. Gentofte Mayor Hans Toft opened it earlier this month.

We got in touch with Ravn and Carter, whose work considers the relationship between plant life and humanity, to learn more about the exhibition’s purpose and context within both the evolving international world of agriculture and Gentofte’s local story.

Read the full story on Hyperallergic: http://hyperallergic.com/80363/agricultural-evolution-leads-to-the-new-garden-city/