BTS' RM to debut personal art collection in SFMOMA exhibition
Share
The leader of K-pop juggernaut BTS will unveil his personal art collection for the first time at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) next October.
Why it matters: The unprecedented partnership will give fans a glimpse into RM's relationship with art and creative expression, and is likely to bring visitors from around the world to San Francisco.
Driving the news: The exhibition will feature 200 works from both RM and SFMOMA's collections, putting modern Korean artworks in dialogue with contemporary pieces from around the world.
- Artists to be showcased include Dansaekhwa pioneer Yun Hyong-keun, ink painter Park Rehyun, abstract painter Kim Whanki and modernist Georgia O'Keefe.
- SFMOMA will host the exhibition from October 2026 to February 2027. RM curates the collection alongside SFMOMA's América Castillo and Hyoeun Kim.
What they're saying: "We live in an age defined by boundaries. This exhibition at SFMOMA reflects those boundaries: between East and West, Korea and America, the modern and the contemporary, the personal and the universal," RM said in a statement.
- "My only hope is that this exhibition can be a small but sturdy bridge for many."
The big picture: BTS burst onto the music scene in 2013 and has since built a massive global following with hit after hit. RM has 49 million followers on Instagram alone.
- The rapper often shares reflections on his visits to art museums and wrote in a Thursday Instagram post that "it feels both humbling and meaningful to now prepare this exhibition."
- RM, who completed his mandatory military service in June, said SFMOMA reached out to him about the collaboration at the end of last year.
- The "excitement still comes vividly to mind, as if I were sketching out countless ideas all over again," he added. "I would be honored if you could visit with an open heart."