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 Gomboc
Gallery is the largest privately owned Art Gallery in Western
Australia. Situated just thirty minutes from the heart of Perth, in
the wine growing district of the Swan Valley. The Gallery was
established in 1982 on 4.5 hectares, which is at present being
developed into a
Sculpture Park.
The Gallery's policy is to provide an exhibition venue for
established and emerging West Australian artists of all disciplines
and to give extra encouragement and assistance to sculptors by way
of the on-site bronze art foundry.
A new major exhibition is mounted each month, featuring the works
of an individual artist or group of artists and the extensive stock
display is regularly revised. The Gallery endeavours to cover the
full spectrum of artistic tastes and philosophies thereby providing
a stimulating display of diverse Australian Fine Art.
In November 2003, Ron and Terrie Gomboc were awarded The 10th
Anniversary Commemorative Lifetime Commitment Award by Hon. Sheila
McHale MLA, Minister For Culture and the Arts.
In Western Australia the name Gomboc is synonymous with sculpture
and it is a great tribute to the tenacity of both Ron and Terrie
that their twentieth annual Sculpture Survey took place in
2003.
 The
survey has a fascinating history which reflects the growth and
development of plastic art in this state as well as the vicissitudes
of funding and patronage over the past two decades. The highs that
we have experienced are essentially due to Ron’s generosity,
leadership, vision and persistence. It is largely with his own hands
that he has created a superb venue uniquely suited to this event –
incorporating the multifaceted facilities of a formal gallery,
extensive outdoor gardens, a foundry and residential studio space.
 Twentieth
Annual Exhibition - Sculpture Survey 03 was the crowning and
most public achievement of the Gallery’s annual program. It had
an evangelical role that transcended the routine commitments and
necessarily commercially driven calendar of monthly
presentations and aimed to embrace a wider participation from
both professionals and the public than was usually possible. By
displaying a wide variety of different styles, the Survey
promoted both the diversity of current three-dimensional
expression and the achievements of living artists. It also
encouraged dialogue and exchange between experts, and provided
much needed visual stimulation and education for young and old.
The invitation of significant resident artists not just from
other states, but especially from overseas has considerably
enhanced local knowledge and sophistication. But above all it is
in its support of local talent and conviction that it is
possible to achieve something fine, original and of lasting
value here in our own community that the Survey makes its most
enduring and important contribution.
John Stringer
Perth
28 March, 2003
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