The person everyone was waiting for was visibly anxious as he stepped up to the microphone.
An army of fans lined up outside SFMOMA, but Kim Namjoon, otherwise known as RM of Korean pop group BTS, acknowledged his insecurity in the unlikely role of art curator at one of the world’s foremost museums.
“This is my debut as a co-curator,” he said. “And I’m nervous.”
Nearly 150 items from RM’s personal collection are currently on display at SFMOMA, along with 36 of the museum’s own pieces — a remarkable U.S. exhibition of Korean modern art as well as a rare opportunity to highlight cross-cultural connections.
Aware of RM’s activity within the art world, SFMOMA reached out to the Korean pop star and music producer while he was doing his military service, with the proposition for an exhibition based on his collection.
For all his fame, RM seemed overwhelmed to deliver remarks at the opening of the landmark exhibition, “RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me.”
“Somehow the more I worked on it, the more confused I became,” he said.
It was this confusion that initially brought RM into the art world. The rapper described himself as someone who is always drifting and floating.
“It’s not a good sensation,” he said. “I’ve leaned on art a lot because of that feeling.”
RM lives in a hyper-paced world of celebrity, but art allows him to slow down.
“This is pretty much myself,” he said in describing the show. “Art has always been a comfortable language for me.”
Co-curator América Castillo, who fell into the museum world with no formal art history training, said she can identify with the feeling of being on the outside looking in.
“I was frustrated that more people from unconventional backgrounds weren’t being given opportunities to curate exhibitions of this scale, and therefore shape stories being told within cultural institutions,” she said.
The show provides a unique occasion to see art through one person’s eyes. RM’s writing sprawls across the walls. The exhibition labels, in a break from tradition, use the first person in RM’s voice to explain his collection choices.
“The impetus is to sound like an authority so people trust you,” Castillo said, regarding the unusual labels. “But what if you say, ‘I don’t know,’ and that’s what makes people trust you?”
There are prompts on the floor and walls not to get too close to the art, like a friend texting you: “Plz take it in with your eyes and heart.”
The frequent do-not-touch reminders could be interpreted as stemming from RM’s celebrity as well as the coziness of the exhibition space; people need to be reminded not to get too comfortable.
The wide-ranging exhibition includes photography, sculpture and other examples of Korean art from the sixth century to the present day. Works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Agnes Martin, Henri Matisse and others from SFMOMA’s collection also represented.
Divided into eight sections, the exhibition begins and ends with a color, starting with the blue of water and ending with the umber of earth.
Central to the journey is artist Yun Hyong-Keun, whose work bookends the show and who represents Dansaekhwa, the abstract, monochrome movement so central to modern Korean art. (A retrospective of another Dansaekhwa master, Ha Chong-Hyn, is on view at the Asian Art Museum nearby.)
The blue represents emotion, and allows for the inclusion of work by Kim Whanki and Yves Klein, noted for his blue monochrome paintings.
The umber ending puts a focus on Korean calligraphy and also adds an entry point for a Mark Rothko work that hangs side-by-side with Yun. No longer just “the Korean Rothko,” Yun claims his own space next to the American painter.
The exacting dedication to painting a particular object, whether the water droplets of Kim Tschang-Yeul, the dots by Kim Whanki, or the bottles of Giorgio Morandi, are an inspiration for RM, and also the backbone of the “Passion” section of the exhibition.
It’s captivating to see a world-renowned celebrity absorbed in another artist’s focused craft, in the absence of any adoring fans or limelight.
The “Friendscape” section, populated with animals and landscapes, includes the first piece of art RM ever acquired: Lee Dai-won’s “Bugaksan Mountain,” a pointillist landscape.
It demonstrates that RM’s love of dots began early and continued with his appreciation of artists like Kim Whanki — “the very first name I fell for,” reads the exhibition text.
Perhaps the most memorable section is “Home,” where the exhibition is set up like a cozy interior. There’s a curated soundtrack by RM playing over the sound system, and viewers are encouraged to sit on the couch, armchairs or at the kitchen table to enjoy the art. A wooden shelf with a collection of ceramics juts into the center of the room.
The last piece in the show, Yun’s “Burnt Umber and Ultramarine,” in its own atrium, ties the beginning of the exhibition to the end with the bookend colors. “The exhibition begins close to everyday life, moves more deeply into human experience, and ends in quiet,” said co-curator Hyoeun Kim.
It would be easy to think that, as a global pop phenomenon, RM lent his collection — and his name — to the exhibition and left it at that. But “over the past two years, he’s been deeply involved in every aspect,” Hyoeun Kim said.
Yet what does it mean when the upper echelons of the art world cede authority to a celebrity with no formal training? For one: More sales. Member tickets are already sold out for the exhibition, and weekend tickets are selling at a brisk clip, said SFMOMA director Christopher Bedford.
However, many weekday tickets are still available before the exhibition closes on Feb. 7, 2027.
As for the destination for the only U.S. appearance of his collection, RM couldn’t be happier. “San Francisco is one of the coolest cities in the world,” he said.
“RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me“
Oct. 3, 2026–Feb. 7, 2027
