If you’ve ever wondered what an art collection assembled by a Korean pop star looks like, look no further than the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)’s latest exhibition, “RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me.” The show will feature works from the personal collection of RM, the BTS superstar announced Tuesday on KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco. The news was first reported by Billboard.
The 32-year-old singer said he began assembling his collection about eight years ago, often during visits to museums. While completing his mandatory military service in South Korea, he said, he received “a serious proposal from SFMOMA” about two years ago—and “I loved it.”
He added, “I also thought it could be a good experience before I someday open a space I dream of, and I also thought, at a place with this kind of scale and stature, maybe I could borrow someone else’s spaces and try something fun.”
Viewers can expect to see “a lot of Korean modern contemporary artists,” according to RM. “Over the past century, Korea went through colonization, war and incredibly fast development,” he noted. “A lot disappeared during that time, but at the same time, some remarkable and shiny things were created.”
Of his collecting practices, RM said, “I liked collecting things ever since I was young, and at the same time, I do feel guilty about it.” He continued: “Like, do I really need to carry so many unnecessary things that I don’t even need? Have I ended up becoming just a boring rich snore? Well, maybe. But I thought it would be nice if other people could see those as well, and that’s why I wanted to show the people my collection.”
While RM expressed some insecurities about not having an art background or formal education in the visual arts, he acknowledged that “sometimes an outsider can bring in a new breeze.”
Fans of the K-pop star may even glean revealing details about the singer, via the show. “There aren’t many things that show a person more honestly than a collection they’ve built over a long period of time, spending their money, their life, their effort,” RM said. “This exhibition is a pretty long introduction of myself, and I feel embarrassed, kind of. I don’t really know why I collected all these things, so I just named one of the sections, ‘I Don’t Know, But I Like It.’”
The show brings together nearly 150 works from RM’s personal collection paired alongside others from SFMOMA’s collection. Highlights include pieces by Yves Klein, Yoo Youngkuk, Wonwoo Lee, Giorgio Morandi, Kim Whanki, Han Youngsoo, Wayne Thiebaud, and Chang Ucchin, with the museum posting a behind-the-scenes sneak peek on Instagram.
Tickets are now available for purchase on SFMOMA’s website, with the show opening to the public on October 5 through February 7, 2027.
The exhibition opens days before RM rejoins his BTS bandmates on October 2 for the ARIRANG World Tour in Colombia. The album spent three weeks on the Billboard 200 and produced number one hit “SWIM” on the Billboard Hot 100.
