Daina Maja Titonel is the founder of MAC Maja Arte Contemporanea, a gallery promoting prominent Italian and foreign artists, located on Via di Monserrato.

When, and why, did you open an art gallery in Rome?

I launched the MAC Maja Arte Contemporanea in December 2013. Following an experience of more than 10 years at the [former] Nuovo Galleria Campo de' Fiori, founded by my mother in 1993 and specialising in 19th- and early 20th-century art, I wanted to apply myself, completely independently, to contemporary art.

Which international artists do you work with and what is the breakdown between your Italian and foreign artists?

From 2013 to today I have organised nine exhibitions, working with both Italian and foreign artists. Currently I concentrate solely on the quality of their work – mainly painting and sculpture – without a specific focus on nationality.

You represent many well-established artists. Which emerging artists would you identify as "ones to watch" in the future?

Among the artists I work with, I would select in particular the German sculptor Janine von Thüngen and the Venezuelan artist Rodolfo Villaplana.

What do you look for in an artist and can you identify a common thread between all the artists you represent?

I look for the quality and originality of the work that is presented to me. As the daughter of both an art historian and an important Italian artist, with an experience of over 10 years in contact with the greatest masters of Italian painting, my eye is very exacting. I would say that this unites the artists I work with, and leads to the diverse range of exhibitions at MAC.

How many exhibitions on average do you hold annually?

Around five a year. The current exhibition is Incontri by Italian architectural photographer Roberto Bossaglia which runs until 21 November.

Andy Devane