Ratimir Marijan "Ron" Gomboc is an Australian sculptor.

Biography

Gomboc was born in 1947 in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and received his early schooling in the town of Novi Vinodolski,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. At the age of 13 he emigrated to Australia with his parents. On arriving in Australia he worked as a cabinet maker and builder before joining the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

in 1969. After finishing his

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in 1971 he enrolled in an art course at Claremont School of Art. During the 1970s he studied art and sculpture at Midland Technical College and Perth Technical College. At Midland he came under the tutelage of Guy Grey-Smith, a notable modernist artist.

Art

In 1982 opened the Gomboc Gallery Sculpture Park in Middle Swan on the outskirts of Perth. In 1994 Ron Gomboc won the Mandorla Art Award with a wood, bronze, and copper sculpture called ''At the Gates'' After the death of actor

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...

, Gomboc was commissioned to create a memorial sculpture that was installed at Point Heathcote in Applecross. The three piece sculpture features

yin and yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

and a chessboard, a reference to Ledger's spiritual beliefs and his love of chess. Gomboc had been a friend of the Ledger family for over 30 years. Gomboc was commissioned in 2011 by the

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

to design a statuette for the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards.

Honours

In 1993 Gomboc was Western Australian Citizen of the Year in the Art Culture and Entertainment category. He was awarded a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

in 2001 for services to art.

References

1947 births 20th-century Slovenian sculptors 20th-century Slovenian male artists 21st-century Slovenian sculptors Slovenian artists Artists from Ljubljana Artists from Perth, Western Australia Living people Yugoslav emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian sculptors {{Australia-artist-stub