When Orleans House invited artists to submit work for its latest exhibition, Making It/Faking It, the gallery was inundated with homages, copies and pastiches. Curator Mark De Novelis tells Will Gore how he picked out the best from the inspired imitators.

Tell us about the range of art that was submitted for the show

I am glad that this has become our most popular open exhibition to date, as it’s an idea I’ve had germinating for a number of years. Thematic exhibitions are often like buses - you programme one and three turn up. Earlier in the year, there were similar exhibitions at the V&A and National Gallery, but they focussed more on famous forgeries. We wanted our exhibition to have a very contemporary flavour – how and why artists now approach famous works from the past. As it was a popular theme, we received a record number of submissions – over 1,100 individual images from 220 artists.

In general, what marked out the ones that made it to the exhibition?

We had a selection committee of 10 people and we spent about eight hours rigorously whittling the entries down to 80 to fit the space. The criteria included technical virtuosity or creative use of media, and work which directly but imaginatively responded to the theme.

Out of all the entries were there recurring themes or artists who were used as starting points?

The main categories tended to be copies - either traditional or in different media, reverent homages to a particular artist or style, or playful pastiches of an artistic style. Some of the works selected use well-known works but with a contemporary twist – for example the 16th century Andrea Del Sarto portrait of a man with added IPod.

Is it important for artists to look at and respond to what has gone before them?

Artists are part of a culture, society and time. They don’t exist or create in a vacuum, so it is impossible not to be aware of and respond to what has gone before.

Is there an artist who can't be copied or taken off?

Out of the countless copies I have seen over the years, I have never really seen a successful copy of a Vermeer or Rembrandt. Even if they are technically excellent, they lack the spirit of the artist.

What do you like about the Gainsborough pastiche?

The original conversation piece by Gainsborough epitomises English art and deals with class, wealth and ownership. Lex Thomas transforms this well-known image into a surrealist fantasy complete with animal heads and the modern elements of the pixilated backgrounds and the lady typing on a laptop. In the original, Gainsborough had left this area on her lap unfinished perhaps to later add a portrait of the couple’s child.

Making It/Faking It, Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham, October 2 - January 23, richmond.gov.uk/home/leisure_and_culture