In this interview, Art Insider sits down with Tatiana Zemskova, a trailblazer in the art industry, to discuss her unique journey from finance to art, her disruptive approach to art sales, and the challenges faced by women disruptors in the field. Tatiana shares her valuable life lessons and her vision for empowering women’s rights through her future initiatives. Join us for a fascinating conversation that explores art, mentorship, and making a positive impact on society.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I have been into art since childhood. I remember going to endless museums and galleries for inspiration and pure aesthetic joy or contemplating something beautiful. However, my mom insisted that I choose something more practical for my career path and I got an education in finance. Years later, now an adult, I decided to pursue my passion for art because it never went away. And here I am!
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
I believe my approach to art sales is unique and potentially disruptive within the industry. See, every deal I get involved in is a deep, multifaceted process that is, first and foremost, about creating a powerful experience for the client. They want more than a painting, sculpture, or a piece of jewelry. They want to emotionally and aesthetically connect with it. This is what I help buyers with. It takes a lot of skills – from storytelling to deep sales psychology knowledge.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Perhaps, it was when I confused two galleries and went to meet one of the first artists I wanted to work with to a completely wrong place. When I arrived and realized my mistake, I was mortified. Have I just let down a potential client? Am I so unorganized? Should I drop everything and just go work in an office? My head was spinning. Luckily, the artist was very understanding and we rearranged our meeting swiftly. And I learned once and for all that, the worst thing you can do as a professional is give in to panic. Now I maintain a sense of calm even when something challenging or unexpected comes along.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I’ve been incredibly lucky to meet interesting and successful people in different areas along my professional journey. One of them – my close friend and an art connoisseur who collects amazing masterpieces – has become my mentor. He’s like a walking encyclopedia, I never get tired of learning from him. He also helps me determine growth trajectories and navigate information fields. There’s so much white noise around us and sometimes it’s hard to spot pieces, artists, and deals that are worth my attention and effort. My mentor assists me in this endeavor.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
To me, “disruptive” has always been a controversial term. I believe it’s positive when the disruption brings about progress, even if it’s painful or confusing in the moment. But we can only tell whether this massive change was worth the discomfort in retrospect. Think of neural networks as disrupting the way art is created now. Anyone with an AI bot and a prompt can create digital art within seconds. What impact will this technology have on artists and the industry? Is AI-generated or assisted art even true art? Will people abandon analog art entirely? We will only get the answers as this disruptive change unfolds.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
The first one is: always finish what you started. This piece of advice is from my father, he said that to me when I started going to music school and really wanted to give it up after only a short while. I was bored and lacked discipline, it was too much to handle for an active child like me. Perhaps I could have become a great athlete instead. But I did graduate music school and I’m glad I never gave up.
The second one is: listen more, speak less. I used to be a total chatterbox and this piece of advice really helped me become a better communicator.
And the third one is: no reward for bad behavior. It is very important to stand your ground and defend your personal space (physically and mentally) when it comes to communication and relationships. Don’t push other people’s boundaries and don’t let them do it to you.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
I feel overwhelming yet inspiring freedom when I think about my future. For now, I can safely say I want to increase my expertise, acquire new skills, and dig deeper into the world of modern art.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Sadly, the problems women disruptors face today are not much different from what they had to go through years and decades ago. The most disheartening thing of all is the fact that people still might perceive you as less professional or qualified than a man with the same background and expertise. This is such a deeply rooted bias. Women have to go that extra mile to prove they are true experts in their fields. And of course, the issue of harassment – in and outside the workplace – is still there. Despite #metoo and other initiatives, many women are still afraid to speak up against the perpetrators.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
I really love Jessica Valenti’s multiformat series What would a feminist do. It’s a fantastic, insightful collection of advice, real-life stories, and discussions about the many issues and challenges women are still facing today, some of which I have already mentioned here. Valenti brings profound educational value and raises awareness of women’s problems to further encourage us to find better solutions.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Protecting women’s rights is at the core of a maintaining healthy society. That’s something I’m passionate about. If I were to start a movement, it would definitely be concerned with this sphere. The first thing that comes to my mind is, once again, protection against harassment. I would launch a series of initiatives to help women who have suffered from aggressive behavior, intimidation, and assault get whatever support they might need – psychological, financial, or otherwise. I’d also invest in educating people – particularly men – on why harassment in any form is unacceptable and how they can adjust their behavior and attitudes to become women’s allies. As a mother-to-be, I want to make the world a safer place for my children, and eradicating harassment is a crucial step toward it.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Never blame anyone in your life. Good people give you happiness, bad people give you a lesson. And the best people give you memories.“
What I mean is – don’t take things too close to heart. Cherish your relationships but remember – expectations give birth to disappointment. When I relinquished those expectations, my life became more exciting and full of pleasant surprises. And the quality of my personal and professional relationships got much better.