BTS' RM to unveil personal art collection at San Francisco museum - Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- RM, the leader of K-pop supergroup BTS, will unveil around 140 works from his personal art collection this weekend at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), in an exhibition he described as "quite an extensive self-introduction," his agency said Wednesday.
The exhibition, titled "RM X SFMOMA: Between You and Me," will open Saturday (U.S. time) and run through Feb. 7, BigHit Music said.
It marks the first time the South Korean rapper's collection will be displayed at a museum, and most of the works he owns will be shown in the United States for the first time.
BTS' RM is seen in this photo provided by BigHit Music. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
RM, whose real name is Kim Nam-joon, took part in the planning and curation of the exhibition, working with SFMOMA co-curators America Castillo and Kim Hyo-eun to select the works and shape the presentation.
The show will feature about 180 works in total, including pieces from SFMOMA's holdings. They include works by leading figures in modern and contemporary Korean art, such as Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rae-hyun and Chang Uc-chin. The museum will also display works from its collection by Korean artist Kim Whan-ki, Korean-American pioneer Paik Nam-june, as well as Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin and Henri Matisse.
RM wrote exhibition texts and artwork descriptions in Korean and English and lent his voice for audio guides recorded in both languages. He also selected the music to be played in the galleries.
"This is the first time I'm sharing my collection under my name," RM said in a press release. "I think there are few things that reveal a person as honestly as a collection they have built over a long period of time.
"In that sense, I think this exhibition will be quite an extensive self-introduction," he said.
The 32-year-old said his collection included many works by modern and contemporary Korean artists whose names might still be unfamiliar outside the country.
"I have collected them with the hope of adding a better perspective and sensibility," he said. "That process has led to this exhibition."
The collaboration is the first between SFMOMA and a K-pop artist since the museum was founded.
"This show creates a different entry point, and that's meaningful," Castillo said in a post on the museum's website. "We invite you to wander the galleries of RM x SFMOMA, following your own path and creating your own connections to these works as they call to you, challenge you, and move you, much as they did RM."
