
Un inventario per una Jaquette
1973
Rendered in graphite and collage on paper, this 1973 work by Concetto Pozzati presents itself as a mock inventory, a systematic yet playful accumulation of tailoring references spread across a large format sheet. Fragments of sewing patterns marked with grid lines and colored threads, swatches of tweed and corduroy in olive, burgundy, and brown, silhouetted and illustrated jacket forms, and repeated printed vignettes of suited figures are assembled and taped to the surface with visible strips of adhesive. The composition mimics the working surface of a tailor or a fashion house, yet it also reads unmistakably as a conceptual artwork engaged with questions of seriality, classification, and the cultural codes embedded in masculine dress. Pozzati was a central figure in Italian Pop Art and Conceptualism, associated with the Gruppo N and later with a broader circle of artists examining the intersection of consumer culture and visual language. In this work, he turns the vocabulary of menswear, one of the most codified and tradition-bound domains of Italian material culture, into raw material for an ironic taxonomy. The word "inventario" in the title signals an ordering impulse, but the composition resists neat resolution. Pieces overlap, tear, and extend beyond the edges of their supports, while the repeated motif of small groups of suited mannequins functions almost like a typographic mark, a unit of meaning stripped of the individuality the garment is ostensibly meant to confer. The work belongs to a productive period in Pozzati's practice when he was exploring collage as a means of interrogating how meaning accumulates through repetition and context. The 1973 date places it within a moment of significant critical energy in Italian art, when artists were actively questioning the relationship between production, commodity, and representation. For collectors, this piece offers a rare and sophisticated example of that inquiry made tangible, combining strong visual presence with conceptual density. The warm tones of the fabric samples, the precise hatching of the illustrated jacket, and the handwritten inscription across the lower center all reward sustained attention. It is both an artifact of its historical moment and a work whose questions about identity, classification, and the performance of refinement remain entirely current.
- Medium
- Graphite and collage on paper
🔨 Auction Lot
Martini Studio d'Arte: Modern And Contemporary Art
June 10, 2026
Estimate: €1,000 to €2,000
Lot 232
More by Concetto Pozzati



Start the Discussion
Request access to join the discussion