RM's Art Collection Opens at SFMOMA in 'RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me'

The art that BTS leader RM has collected now hangs on the seventh floor of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). The exhibition, ‘RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me’, opened on 3 October and runs to 7 February 2027. The museum says nearly 150 works from the personal collection RM has built over nearly 10 years come together with works from SFMOMA’s own collection. At its centre is Korean modern and contemporary art.

Curated by RM, with two SFMOMA co-curators

SFMOMA lists RM (Kim Namjoon) as the exhibition’s curator, with two co-curators from the museum: América Castillo, Curatorial Project Manager, and Hyoeun Kim, Assistant Curator of Painting and Sculpture. According to his label’s announcement, carried by Nocut News, RM chose the works and shaped the exhibition with them. The museum proposed the project first, having noticed RM’s taste and his steady interest in contemporary art.

The Korea Times reported that the collaboration began about two years ago, when Castillo proposed turning RM’s way of collecting and experiencing art into a museum exhibition. According to Hankyung, RM said at a press preview on 29 September, local time, that he received the proposal two years ago.

RM’s own writing runs through the galleries. According to the label’s announcement, he wrote the exhibition texts and artwork descriptions in Korean and English, recorded the audio guide in both languages and chose the music playing in the galleries. In its review of 5 October, The Korea Times described visitors entering the hall to a giant mural of RM’s handwritten notes about the works.

From Yun Hyong-keun and Chang Ucchin to Mark Rothko

According to SFMOMA, the exhibition centres on Korean modern and contemporary art, with works by Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rehyun and Chang Ucchin among others. It also traces art in Korea from the fifth century to today through ceramics, calligraphy, painting and sculpture, and many of the works have never before been shown in the United States. The label’s announcement also named Kwon Ok-yeon, Kim Yun Shin and Do Sang-bong among the artists in RM’s collection.

The Korean works hang beside those of artists from around the world. According to the same announcement, works from SFMOMA’s collection by Kim Whanki, Nam June Paik, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, Henri Matisse and Georgia O’Keeffe are shown with them. The museum says there is no single way into the exhibition, and Hankyung reported that it places works from different eras and cultures together to show how each has explored themes such as nature, memory and human existence.

The Korea Times review noted that RM introduces Nam June Paik’s television installation in the audio guide with the words “We are his TV.”

Where the collecting began: Chicago, 2018

Star News reported that, in an interview with The New York Times in August, RM traced his interest in Korean art to a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago during a BTS tour in 2018. Seeing in person the work of artists he had known from textbooks, he asked himself why he knew Picasso and Van Gogh but no Korean artists, according to the outlet. SFMOMA quotes him on its exhibition page: “You have to find your root [. . .] and that’s how I started to look at the Korean artists.”

The same outlet reported that the first work RM is known to have bought is Mountain, a 1976 painting by the painter Lee Dae-won. At the preview, RM said that when he first began visiting museums and looking at art eight years ago, he could not have imagined a day like this one, Hankyung reported.

An exhibition RM called “quite a long self-introduction”

“This is the first occasion I am sharing my collection with my name on it. I believe few things reveal a person as frankly as a collection someone has built over a long time,” RM said, as quoted by The Korea Herald. Through his label he added that, in that sense, the exhibition would be “quite a long self-introduction”.

He chose the works by two questions. According to Hankyung, RM said at the preview: “The first was, ‘Does this really move me?’ and the other was, ‘Right now, in 2026, do this artist and this work still have something to tell us?’” He said that he sometimes does not know himself why he collected all of it, and so named one section ‘I Don’t Know, But I Like It’.

At the same event RM said: “I have never formally studied art history and I am not a curator, but in any field an outsider can sometimes bring in a new wind.”

Four days before the opening, 100 million won to the National Museum of Korea

On 29 September, four days before the opening, RM gave 100 million won for acquisitions to the National Museum of Korea through the Friends of the National Museum of Korea, the nonprofit that supports the museum. According to The Korea Herald, the association will use the money to buy artifacts for the museum’s collection and to support future donations.

RM was named the museum’s global ambassador on 19 June, and Nocut News reported that he is the first global ambassador in the museum’s history. According to The Korea Herald, RM said through the museum that he was glad to contribute as its global ambassador and would keep working to promote the museum and Korean culture.

Key takeaways

• ‘RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me’ runs on SFMOMA’s seventh floor from 3 October 2026 to 7 February 2027.
• SFMOMA says nearly 150 works from RM’s personal collection are on show; the label’s announcement, carried by Nocut News, gave about 140.
• RM chose the works with co-curators América Castillo and Hyoeun Kim, wrote the Korean and English wall texts and recorded the audio guide.
• According to SFMOMA, the exhibition carries a surcharge of $10 on weekdays and $12 on weekends and holidays.
• On 29 September RM gave 100 million won for acquisitions to the National Museum of Korea.