BTS fans heading to San Francisco have a new reason to make the trip, but this time the spotlight is on RM’s passion for art. RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me brings together nearly 200 works, including pieces from RM’s personal collection and selections from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition offers a rare look at the art RM has collected over nearly a decade, while placing Korean artists in conversation with major international figures. His own handwritten notes and recorded reflections are woven throughout the galleries, giving visitors a sense of why particular works caught his attention. Running through February 2027, the exhibition turns RM’s personal relationship with art into a public museum experience.
RM’s Personal Collection Takes Center Stage
For nearly a decade, RM has been collecting art that genuinely speaks to him, and now that private interest has become the foundation of his first museum exhibition. RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me brings together 142 works from RM’s personal collection with 36 works from SFMOMA, creating a presentation of nearly 200 works across the museum’s seventh floor. The exhibition is also RM’s first partnership with a museum as a co-curator, with SFMOMA curators América Castillo and Hyoeun Kim working alongside him. Rather than simply displaying pieces associated with a famous musician, the exhibition is built around RM’s personal response to art and the connections he sees between different artists, cultures, periods and mediums. SFMOMA describes it as one of the most expansive presentations of Korean modern art in the United States, while the San Francisco Chronicle notes that it is the largest presentation of Korean art in the museum’s history.
Korean and Western Artists Meet in Unexpected Ways
The most interesting part of the exhibition is often what happens when two seemingly unrelated works are placed beside each other. RM and the SFMOMA curators deliberately created conversations between Korean artists and major figures from Western art, rather than separating the works by nationality or period. Korean artists represented in the exhibition include Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rehyun, Kwon Okyon, Kim Yun Shin, To Sangbong and Chang Ucchin, while SFMOMA contributes works by artists including Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, Henri Matisse, Georgia O’Keeffe, Yves Klein, Nam June Paik and Donald Judd. One example is Yun Hyong-keun’s work shown alongside Donald Judd, whose friendship with Yun created a real historical connection between the two artists. Other pairings are based on visual or emotional similarities. The result encourages visitors to notice relationships that might not be obvious when artworks are viewed within separate national or historical categories.
RM’s Own Words Follow Visitors Through the Galleries
RM’s involvement does not stop with choosing the artworks. He wrote the wall texts and labels throughout the exhibition, revising them repeatedly as he tried to explain what each work meant to him. SFMOMA says his personal perspective is woven into the presentation, from the selection of artworks to the questions behind the exhibition and the way the galleries were designed. Visitors can also listen to an audio guide featuring RM discussing the themes of the galleries, everyday beauty and questions about human existence. The guide is available in English and Korean, and it was produced from separate unscripted interviews in each language rather than simply translating one recording into the other. That gives the audio experience a particularly personal quality. Instead of hearing a distant institutional explanation of the collection, visitors get RM’s own reflections on why certain works attracted him and how he responds to them.
Rarely Seen Works Give the Exhibition Added Appeal
There is plenty here that even regular museum visitors will not have encountered before. The exhibition includes artworks from RM’s collection that have never been publicly exhibited in the United States, alongside works from SFMOMA that have rarely been displayed. The museum says the presentation brings together nearly 200 works by Korean and international artists, making this the first museum exhibition devoted to artworks from RM’s personal collection. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the exhibition is the only place in the world where visitors can see RM’s personal art collection outside his Seoul home during this period. That makes the show unusual even before considering RM’s role as co-curator. For visitors interested in Korean modern and contemporary art, the exhibition also provides access to artists whose work may be less familiar to audiences outside Korea. The museum has used RM’s collection as an entry point for placing these artists into broader conversations with internationally recognized figures.
The Exhibition Is About Personal Connections
The title Between You and Me captures the exhibition’s central idea: art can create a connection between an individual viewer and something made by another person, even when those people come from completely different places or generations. RM’s collection was built around personal resonance rather than a strict academic framework or an attempt to follow market trends. That philosophy shapes the way the exhibition is organized. Some works are connected through friendships between artists, others through shared imagery, mood, materials or ideas. The museum specifically encourages visitors to wander through the galleries and make their own connections rather than follow one prescribed route. That open approach is part of what the curators wanted from the project. It also gives the exhibition a welcoming entry point for people who may not consider themselves regular museumgoers. The show is designed to let visitors start with whatever catches their attention and then explore where that connection leads.
San Francisco Becomes the Place to See It
For BTS fans planning a San Francisco visit, the timing matters because the exhibition has a defined run and requires its own timed admission. RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me opens to the public on October 3, 2026, and remains on view through February 7, 2027, on Floor 7 of SFMOMA. The museum has also created a $75 Encore Pass for visitors who want to return during the exhibition’s run. The pass provides unlimited access to the exhibition, an exclusive gift and a 10% discount at the exhibition’s pop-up store, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Regular visitors need a timed ticket for the surcharged exhibition, and general admission to SFMOMA alone does not provide access. With RM’s personal collection being shown publicly in this form for the first time, the exhibition offers something distinctly different from a conventional BTS-themed attraction: the focus is on the art RM has collected, the artists he admires and the connections he wants visitors to discover for themselves.
