RM’s SFMOMA Exhibition Sends Advance Ticket Sales Soaring

RM’s personal art collection has become a major attraction for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The BTS leader’s exhibition, RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me, has sold more than 66,000 tickets, with advance sales running six times higher than any previous exhibition at the museum, according to The Guardian.

The show brings RM’s collecting life into public view through 142 works from his holdings, largely centered on Korean art, alongside 36 pieces from SFMOMA’s collection. Paintings, sculpture, ceramics, calligraphy and even an animation cel are arranged to create conversations across periods, artists and cultures.

RM turns a private collection into a public dialogue

SFMOMA says the exhibition offers one of the most expansive presentations of Korean modern art in the United States. Artists represented include Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rehyun and Chang Ucchin, with many works being shown in the country for the first time. RM’s own handwritten wall texts and narrated audio guide add his personal reflections to the museum experience.

The musician, whose real name is Kim Namjoon, began collecting after museum visits while touring with BTS. He has said the project is meant to feel personal rather than academic, and that he hopes the exhibition can act as a bridge in an era often defined by boundaries. Korean works are placed beside art from elsewhere in the world, inviting visitors to make connections rather than follow a single prescribed route.

BTS fans deliver a museum-sized boost

The audience response has gone beyond ticket sales. Fans traveled from outside San Francisco for the opening, while merchandise tied to the show sold out within three hours, The Guardian reports. Museum staff described the intensity of the turnout as unlike anything they had previously experienced.

That surge arrives at an important moment for SFMOMA, which announced layoffs last year while managing a multimillion-dollar deficit and lower attendance expectations. The exhibition’s commercial impact is already clear, but its cultural reach may prove just as significant by introducing a broad pop audience to Korean modern and contemporary art.

RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me remains on view through February 7, 2027.