'RM x SFMOMA' opens Saturday

140 personal works shown in US for first time

Artist oversees curation, wall text and audio guide

BTS's RM [Big Hit Music]
BTS's RM [Big Hit Music]

BTS leader RM is bringing his eye for art to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

The special exhibition "RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me," co-organized by RM and SFMOMA, will run from Saturday through Feb. 7, 2027 (local time), according to his agency Big Hit Music. It marks the first time RM has publicly presented his personal collection at a major art museum.

"This is the first time I am sharing my journey as a collector with the world under my own name," RM said through Big Hit Music. "I believe few things reflect a person's inner world as honestly as a collection built over many years. In that sense, this exhibition will be quite a lengthy introduction of myself to the audience."

He added, "My collection includes many works by Korean modern and contemporary artists — some of them still unfamiliar outside Korea. I have been collecting with the hope of adding a slightly better perspective and sensibility, and that process has led to this exhibition."

RM played a central role throughout the planning process, working closely with SFMOMA co-curators America Castillo and Kim Hyo-eun on everything from selecting works to designing the layout. He also wrote the exhibition introduction and individual wall texts in both Korean and English, recorded an audio guide in his own voice, and curated the background music for the show.

The collaboration is the first SFMOMA has undertaken with a K-pop artist since the museum opened in 1935. The museum approached RM after recognizing his distinctive collecting philosophy and sustained support for contemporary art.

In practice, RM has established himself as a significant figure in the art world for years. He has made a habit of visiting galleries and museums across South Korea whenever time allows, and his routes have given rise to a cultural phenomenon known as the "RM tour." A brief entry he left in the guestbook at the Lee Ufan Space at the Busan Museum of Art in 2019 — "Teacher, I love 'Wind'" — drew legions of fans from Korea and abroad into the quiet gallery, pushing visitor numbers to more than four times their usual level. He also donated 100 million won ($73,500) to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art to help restock out-of-print art books, and contributed 200 million won toward restoring a Joseon royal ceremonial robe and producing a catalog of Korean paintings held in overseas collections — demonstrating that he is not merely an art enthusiast but a committed patron of Korean art.

"This exhibition aligns with the museum's commitment to expanding global dialogue through art," SFMOMA Director Christopher Bedford said. "We are creating space for a new voice in our museum while inviting audiences who first encountered contemporary and Korean art through RM to come experience it here."

The exhibition will feature roughly 180 works in total, including approximately 140 from RM's personal collection. Masterpieces by foundational figures of Korean modern and contemporary art — among them Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rae-hyun, Chang Ucchin, Kwon Ok-yeon, Kim Yun-shin and Do Sang-bong — will share the space with works from SFMOMA's own holdings, including pieces by Kim Whan-ki and Nam June Paik alongside Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, Henri Matisse and Georgia O'Keeffe. The exhibition also spans sixth-century Three Kingdoms pottery and ceramics and calligraphy, tracing the long arc of Korean aesthetics across five millennia. SFMOMA has described the show as "the most expansive exhibition of Korean modern and contemporary art ever presented in American art history."


shee@heraldcorp.com