On October 26,  artficial and its media partner hosted cloni d’arte, an invitation-only event for architects and designers at the Ostiense Museum in Ostia Antica – the ancient Roman port at the mouth of the Tiber river as it meets the Tyrrhenian Sea. 

On hand were Ely Rozenberg, Design Professor at Holon Institute of Technology, and Ubaldo Spina, Design Editor-in-Chief at Giornale dell’Architettura.

Spina spoke about the intersection of art and interior design, focusing on how companies and designers have explored this relationship since the 1950s. He highlighted the ways classical art has been both faithfully reproduced and playfully reimagined—through techniques like fragmentation, layering, object integration, and even bold alterations like smearing and coloring. Often, these transformations stem from a designer’s struggle to reinterpret the original work.

Spina pointed to examples like Gufram’s Capitello and Attica, which echo the columns of the Erechtheion in Athens, as well as Slide’s modern takes on Venus and David and Driade’s sculptural Nemo armchair. Advances in polymer materials have made it easier to create design icons and adapt classical art to modern living—whether for seating, decoration, or lighting.

He also noted a growing trend in design companies launching special “Art & Specials” collections and eCommerce platforms, along with the rise of online repositories that allow people to customize and 3D-print artworks at home. Looking ahead, Spina emphasized how AI is pushing artistic boundaries, enabling the blending of styles from different eras; for example. the Impossible Statue,” a generative sculpture that combines the artistic sensibilities of Michelangelo, Rodin, Kollwitz, Kotaro, and Savage into a single, harmonious form.

The event proved to us – once again – that the artclone brings sculpture back into the public consciousness, and serves as a inspirational vehicle for cultural regeneration.

Barbara Dal Corso works at the intersection of art and technology. She is the co-founder of ARTficial, the maker of the world’s first officially-licensed artclones.