Goggomobil d’arts into the Benalla Art Gallery

Published on 24 May 2018

The iconic Goggomobil Dart car, painted with distinctive painted paper darts by Melbourne contemporary artist Robert Clinch will be on show at Benalla Art Gallery from 25 May to 24 June 2018.

The Goggomobil D’Art Project is being exhibited to celebrate the annual Winton Historic Vehicle Tour. The 1960s Goggomobil was named and designed by Bill Buckle who thought ‘Dart’ summed up the tiny, good-looking little sports car.

Director of the Benalla Art Gallery, Bryony Nainby said the Robert Clinch’s sense of flight and fun implied by paper darts is a perfect fit for the Dart car.

“The classic Australian-designed and built Goggomobil Dart sports car is a beautiful aesthetic object in itself,” Ms Nainby said.

“We are delighted to have Robert Clinch’s work on display at the Benalla Art Gallery. Robert is a highly accomplished artist well known for his realist depictions of Melbourne buildings and urban landscapes which often feature his signature paper dart motif. His inspired painting of the Goggomobil Dart elevates the car to a real objet d’art. No two darts painted on the car are the same and narratives present themselves through the various groupings, such as D’Artagnan – a large dart shadowed by three smaller darts. .”

Classic car collector Jeff Brown, son of renowned art collector Joseph Brown whose art collection is a highlight of the National Gallery of Victoria, collaborated with Robert Clinch to conceive this engaging project.

The exhibition features Clinch’s paintings and drawings, which are part of the artist’s working process for developing the precisely positioned painted darts. The exhibition also includes a short documentary of the project as it evolved and interviews with the Australian developer of the Dart, Bill Buckle, and Tommy Dysart, the star of the Yellow Pages television advertisement which featured the Goggomobil.