In the fall of 2013 Hamlett Dobbins moved to Rome where he lived and worked for eleven months. Every Sunday for many months he would go to Sant”™Ivo alla Sapienza, a perfect little church built by the architect Francesco Borromini. The church was only open to the public on Sunday mornings before mass. Dobbins would go there regularly to make quick, simple drawings: just Sharpie marker on unlined index cards. At the end of his sojourn in Rome, Dobbins had hundreds of these line drawings divided into individual Sundays.
In 2015 ArtsMemphis awarded Hamlett Dobbins with an ArtsAccelerator grant that allowed the artist to work closely with Brian Dixon, a friend and designer, on the publication of a book that collects forty-two drawings made from Dobbins”™ last visit to the church. Sant”™Ivo: June 29, 2014 also contains a forward by American Academy in Rome Director Kim Bowes and an essay by the artist.
Sant’Ivo: June 29, 2014 was printed in a limited edition of only one hundred books. Each book is signed and numbered and sells for $47.00 which includes the costs of shipping and handling.