BTS' RM partners with SFMOMA to exhibit personal art collection

BTS’ RM is set to make history as the first K-pop artist to serve as the lead curator of a major exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, running from October 2026 to February 2027.

Taking place at one of the world’s top three modern art museums, “RM x SFMOMA” will feature approximately 200 works from the K-pop idol's personal art collection alongside pieces from SFMOMA’s holdings.

Aimed at fostering cross-cultural dialogue between Korean contemporary art and global modern art, the large-scale exhibition will showcase renowned Korean artists and international art legends, including Yun Hyong Keun, Park Rehyun, Kwon Ok Yeon, Kim Whanki, Mark Rothko, and Henri Matisse, among others.

“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. I don’t want to prescribe how these works should be seen; whether out of curiosity or study, all perspectives are welcome. My only hope is that this exhibition can be a small but sturdy bridge for many,” said RM.

SFMOMA’s Chief Curator Janet Bishop shared her enthusiasm, stating, “Visitors will have an unprecedented opportunity to explore RM’s beautiful and contemplative collection of paintings and sculpture in dialogue with works from SFMOMA’s holdings, inviting us to make new discoveries and reflect on our own relationships with art.”

The exhibition will be co-curated by SFMOMA curatorial project manager América Castillo and assistant curator Hyoeun Kim.

RM has long expressed his passion for visual arts through social media posts, interviews, and museum visits shared online. He is also known for actively collecting works by Korean artists, helping to provide a broader platform for Korean art to reach global audiences.

“Since I began visiting museums in 2018, I’ve been learning and collecting step by step, and it feels both humbling and meaningful to now prepare this exhibition,” the artist wrote in his Instagram post. 

The artist revealed to ArtNet that the first painting he ever bought was an untitled piece by the late Korean artist Lee Daewon from an auction.