BTS leader RM to open first solo exhibition as curator

On Oct. 3, Big Hit Music, BTS’ agency, announced that RM is collaborating with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art for a special exhibition titled RM X SFMOMA. The show will run from October 2026 to February 2027. This marks the first time the museum has collaborated with a K-pop artist since its founding.

RM will serve as the curator for the exhibition, which will feature more than 200 works, including key pieces from his personal collection amassed over the past decade, alongside works from the museum’s holdings.

Newly revealed pieces from RM’s collection include works by prominent modern and contemporary Korean artists such as Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rae-hyun, Kwon Ok-yeon, Kim Yoon-shin, Do Sang-bong, and Jang Uk-jin. The museum will also showcase works by global modern art masters, including Kim Whanki, Mark Rothko, and Henri Matisse. RM has said the exhibition has no fixed way to be experienced and hopes it will serve as a meaningful bridge for visitors.

RM has long expressed his passion for contemporary art, engaging with the field through donations and participation in exhibitions. In 2022, he became the only Korean to be named to Artnet’s list of 35 innovators shaping the global art scene.


김기윤 pep@donga.com