BTS frontman RM is showcasing his personal art collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in an exhibition titled "Between You and Me." The museum anticipates significant foot traffic, with fans like Joi Karra and Bre Walker traveling from afar to see the works. RM’s collection features pieces by Korean artists across different eras, including Yun Hyong-keun, Kim Whanki, and Chang Ucchin, reflecting his long-standing interest in art that has influenced his music.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
BTS frontman RM is showing his art collection.
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RM → show → collection
Fans are flocking to see it
The gift shop at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is expecting a huge rush over the next few months.
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shop → flock → months
"This is hands down the most inventory that we've ever front-loaded for an exhibition," said the museum's director of retail, Shane Salvata.
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director → load → retail
The popstar is showing art from his personal collection for the first time at a museum, and SFMOMA is packed with fans clamoring to see the works and buy souvenirs.
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SFMOMA → show → souvenirs
Among those there for RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me on the sold-out first day of previews are Bay Area twenty-somethings Joi Karra and Bre Walker.
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Karra → sell → previews
The pair met each other a few months ago at one of the BTS-themed events Walker organizes locally.
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Walker → meet → events
Karra similarly takes BTS fandom seriously.
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Karra → take → fandom
The college student has a side hustle making BTS-inspired pins and other accessories.
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student → have → pins
"I love art and museums," said Karra.
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Karra → love → art
"I am not an artsy person," Walker said.
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Walker → say → ?
"This is my first time actually coming to an art museum.
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This → come → museum
She's talking about Kim Nam-joon — RM's real name.
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She → talk → joon
(RM was once known as "Rap Monster," but has gone by the shorter version for almost a decade.)
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RM → know → decade
BTS's global fanbase — collectively known as ARMY, an acronym for "Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth" — came up with a verb to describe the lifestyle associated with the K-pop star's interests: "Namjooning."
"Just doing all the things that Nam-joon loves doing as well," Karra said by way of definition.
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Karra → know → definition
Visiting museums and collecting art are key to Namjooning.
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Visiting → visit → Namjooning
RM began doing these things nearly a decade ago.
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RM → begin → things
His passion for painting and sculpture inspired some of his songs, such as "Yun" (about the 20th century Korean abstract artist Yun Hyong-keun) and "Still Life" (inspired by seeing still life paintings by 19th century European masters in museums).
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passion → inspire → museums
His art collection focuses heavily on works by Korean artists, from ancient times to the present, including Yun, Kim Whanki and Chang Ucchin.
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collection → focus → Yun
RM, who is 32, worked with two SFMOMA curators on RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me.
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who → work → You
At a press briefing ahead of the opening, RM said it was important to him to make sure the art on display resonated with today's audiences.
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art → say → audiences
"There were two questions that mattered most to me," RM said.
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RM → be → me
"One was, does it move me, really?
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it → move → me
And another was, right now in 2026, does this artist and does this work still have something to tell us?"
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work → do → us
RM also described the exhibition as "a pretty long introduction" to himself.
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RM → describe → himself
Fans like Walker and Karra, whose encyclopedic knowledge about RM goes far beyond the introductory phase, see it as a way to get deeper inside his head.
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knowledge → go → head
"I really just want to be a part of something that RM treasures, and find out why he treasures it," said Walker.
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Walker → want → it
"I want to know why he chose certain pieces and what they mean to him," Karra said.
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Karra → want → him
Deciphering RM through art
At the museum, Walker and Karra try to make sense of several large abstract paintings in a section of the show entirely dedicated to the yellow-brown color umber.
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Walker → decipher → umber
"He's got this obsession with umber and its relation to earth," Walker said.
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Walker → get → earth
"
"And I think he likes abstract pieces because they can be interactive, like meditative," added Karra.
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Karra → think → pieces
"You can look at one of these and get lost in it.
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You → look → it
Even though there isn't much going on, it invites your imagination to fill in the pieces.
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it → be → pieces
In one of the eight sections of the show, titled "Friendscape" and focused on the natural world and animals, the pair are struck by a cluster of seven delicately-carved waterfowl made out of wood by an anonymous, long-dead Korean artist.
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pair → title → artist
"That has to allude to BTS somehow because of the seven members, right?" said Karra.
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Karra → have → members
"Most winters, he likes to make little snow ducks — seven of them for the members.
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he → like → members
So I think that might be a bit of a nod to that."
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that → think → that
"We're on the seventh floor, and there are seven ducks," said Walker.
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Walker → be → floor
Not all of the art on display is as easy for these fans to interpret.
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fans → interpret → display
A rock with the word "candy" engraved on it in orange by the contemporary multimedia artist Wonwoo Lee leaves Walker and Karra baffled.
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rock → engrave → Walker
Fittingly, it's in a section titled "I don't know … but I like it."
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I → title → it
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
