Art Curator Jack Siebert on Selecting 20 Painters for Debut Exhibition: “It’s a Female Empowerment Show”

With power reps as parents, Jack Siebert could have easily carved out a career in the family business. He could’ve been an agent like his mother (Gersh senior managing partner Leslie Siebert) or a manager-producer like his father (Lighthouse Entertainment’s Steven Siebert) but the 25-year-old is intent on making his mark on the art world.

On Feb. 14, Jack debuted his first-ever show as a curator with “I Do My Own Stunts” in collaboration with co-curator and close friend Caio Twombly (grandson of renowned artist Cy Twombly) and Spazio Amanita. Hanging on the walls of a pop-up space on Stage 4 on Cahuenga Boulevard were pieces by 20 female painters — and that is no accident.

“It’s a female empowerment show,” Jack told The Hollywood Reporter during the packed opening night celebration, sponsored by Johnnie Walker. “Every artist in the show I’ve known for a while so it’s nice to be able to show them in this context with this theme, telling a story of how they do their own stunts in their paintings and their work.”

At a glance, his work may seem far from a typical 10 percenter, Jack said the skills required for both gigs are quite similar. “I don’t work in representation, but art is all about that. It’s about relationships and that’s why I wanted to do this show. With collecting, I’ve worked on relationships with all the artists in the collection for so long and it’s just an extension of what I’ve been working on, just in a different capacity.”

About that extension, Jack revealed that he recently took over curation duties for the Siebert’s art collection which has recently shifted focus and just so happens to match his mother’s client list and mission of empowering female artists. She maintains an impressive roster including Allison Janney, Angela Bassett, Catherine Keener, Mandy Moore, Debra Messing, Neve Campbell and Anna Paquin, among others, while Steven reps Bassett, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Charles S. Dutton, among many more. “My parents are very supportive,” he praised. “They helped me start collecting from an early age and since then, we’ve been building a great collection together. That has given me a platform to meet artists and gallerists, travel and build these relationships. That’s what led into this.”

What unfolded was a sold-out show before doors even opened. While that obviously made his parents proud, they told THR they are equally stoked that he’s following his dreams. “He’s found his passion and he is great at it,” noted Leslie. “He’s built our collection, which is amazing, even though he’s costing us a fortune.” Seriously though, she added, “He has great taste and that’s why all of his friends and the people and artists he works with trust what he says. It’s a nice feeling that he’s happy and doing so well. It gives us a lot of pride.”

As the Sieberts shifted their personal collection under Jack’s stewardship, they’ve acquired works by artists Hilary Pecis, Jenna Gribbon and Karyn Lyons. The latter two are featured in “I Do My Own Stunts” along with fellow painters Michelle Blade, Andrea Marie Breiling, Cristina de Miguel, Camilla Engstrom, Veronica Fernandez, Louise Giovanelli, Elizabeth Glaessner, Angela Heisch, Mickey Lee, Tidawhitney Lek, Tahnee Lonsdale, Kylie Manning, Jo Messer, Sarah Miska, Alejandra Moros, Ruby Neri, Alake Shilling and Amanda Wall.

The exhibition is on view through March 7 and Jack said once this one wraps up, he’s keen to keep the curation going with lessons learned from this first outing. “Don’t plan a party because I’m not a party planner. I’d rather just curate,” he said with a laugh. “And give the artists more lead time as we started planning this show at the end of December. It’s not a long lead time but we managed to make it happen.”

A version of this story first appeared in the Feb. 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.