Even Better than Korean Boy Bands

RM x SFMOMA

SFMOMA

Ongoing — February 7

Yoo Youngkuk, Work (나무)

Korean art is undoubtedly having a moment, with notable shows in New York City and London. Meanwhile, in the Bay Area, there are three major shows. Ha Chong-Hyun’s Retrospective and Contemporary Korean Ceramics are both at the Asian Art Museum. While opinions may differ on what is the best exhibition, for sheer diversity of art there is no contest; RM x SFMOMA is the undisputed champ.

For almost a decade, RM, of the pop royalty BTS, has been collecting art that moves him. Now, nearly 150 works from his personal collection come together with works from SFMOMA’s collection, revealing unexpected connections across artists, ideas and cultures — and offering one of the most expansive presentations of Korean modern art in the US. “The venture has no obvious parallel” — Andrew Russeth, The New York Times.

RM x SFMOMA is one of the largest presentations of Korean modern and contemporary art ever displayed in the US. The exhibition features nearly 200 works, including some date from the 13th century. There is no single way into this exhibition. Korean artists are placed alongside artists from around the world, creating unexpected connections that expand what each work can mean. Visitors are free to find the works that call to them or challenge them, then see where these works take them.

The thoughtful coupling of RM’s works with pieces from SFMOMA’s permanent collection underlines the RM x SFMOMA description. These unions highlight shared connections — from art placed in historical context, to technique and to the feelings they elicit. Explore this rich history of Korean art in a presentation that resonates across generations and cultures.

L2R: Kim Whanki, 26-1-70 #141; Yves Klein, Éponge, and Kim Whanki, 15-VII-70 #181

In the Bluewater section. Despite different cultural contexts, the artists shared similar artistic approaches as seen in their minimalist, monochromatic works. Both used blue as a metaphysical field or philosophical place to represent cosmic infinity. Kim took it further with repetitive dots and grids that conjure the vastness of the space above us and feelings of melancholy, while Klein continually reduced the elements in his works to the moment where paint (particularly International Klein Blue) became the point.

The exhibition’s centerpieces are the modern and contemporary Korean artworks, including paintings by Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rehyun and Chang Ucchin. At the same time, this show traces the broader trajectory of art in Korea through ceramics, calligraphy, (more) paintings, and sculpture, presenting many works that have never before been seen in the US.

In Friendscapes, the juxtapositions connect the works through intimacy and playfulness.

L: Wayne Thiebaud, Clown and Beast depicts the vulnerability of a circus clown (a representation of Theibaud himself) pinned down by a tiger whose intent is unclear.

R: Kang Yobae, Spring Sleep (봄잠). Kang’s tranquil scene of a sleeping cat captures both intimacy and another kind of vulnerability, found in rest.

How It Came To Be

The idea for this exhibition emerged two years ago when SFMOMA Project Manager and co-curator América Castillo proposed a deeply personal showcase that translates RM’s individual perspective on art into a shared encounter that offers a fresh way to present works in the museum. Castillo, with Assistant Curator of Painting and Sculpture and co-curator Hyoeun Kim, shaped a vision that charts RM’s journey as a deeply engaged art collector. What began with museum visits while on tour with BTS has grown into a diverse collection spanning disciplines, movements, and artists from around the world, while also comprising one of the most impressive individual holdings of modern and contemporary Korean art.

“I’m excited about who this might bring into SFMOMA, including those who may not have felt spoken to by traditional art history frameworks.” — América Castillo, who describes herself as someone from a nontraditional curatorial path.

L2R: You Youngkuk, Work; Kim Whanki, 26-1-70, and Lee Daiwon, Bugaksan Mountain

RM As Co-Curator

RM x SFMOMA is RM’s first-ever partnership with a museum as an exhibition co-curator. His collection is built on personal resonance, not market trends, gallerist collection-building or academic argument. The exhibition offers an intimate look at what inspires him and why. RM’s point of view is woven into every aspect of the exhibition, from the questions that shaped the presentation to the selection of works displayed to the art direction in the galleries. He even wrote the wall text and art labels that appear throughout the exhibition, adding further insight into his connection to these works.

Everyday subjects, quiet scenes, and invitations for contemplation are consistent throughlines in RM’s holdings. “A collection is not simply an accumulation of works, but a way of seeing that takes shape over time. When works are brought together with a consistent sensibility, they form relationships with one another and meaning emerges through those connections,” co-curator Hyoeun Kim observes. In RM x SFMOMA, these relationships are presented through thematic groupings that reflect on everyday beauty, nature, sensitivity to the artist’s life, and questions of human existence.

Some sections are more playful, like Friendscape, which embraces wordplay in its mash-up of human and animal friends with landscape. The whimsical theme, I Don’t Know But I Like It, features artworks that defy easy categorization, yet stay true to the muted palette, serenity and emotional restraint that RM gravitates towards. His collection demonstrates how one person’s way of seeing can reflect universal questions or emotions experienced by many. “Visitors may enter through RM’s point of view, but they leave confronting their own,” notes Hyoeun Kim.

Yun Hyong-keun, Burnt Umber and Ultramarine

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