TL;DR summary: RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me opens on October 3, 2026, and runs through February 7, 2027, on Floor 7 of SFMOMA. The first museum exhibition drawn from the personal art collection of RM of BTS brings together nearly 200 works, about three-quarters from RM's collection and one-quarter from SFMOMA. It centers modern and contemporary Korean art while building conversations with international artists across painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, calligraphy, and design. All visitors need a timed "RM x SFMOMA + General Admission" ticket; standard admission by itself does not include the exhibition.
San Francisco's fall arts calendar gains a new highlight at SFMOMA on October 3. RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me is the first museum exhibition to present works from the personal collection of RM, the rapper, songwriter, producer, and leader of BTS. It is also the exhibition's only U.S. presentation, the kind of cultural moment that many people quietly weigh when exploring San Francisco real estate and imagining life close to institutions like SFMOMA.
The scale is substantial, but the premise is personal. Nearly 200 works from RM's and SFMOMA's collections are arranged through affinities rather than celebrity biography or a single art-historical chronology. Korean and international artists meet across themes including nature, memory, home, everyday beauty, and human existence.
The first practical step is simple: reserve the correct timed ticket before you make the trip. General admission alone will not get you into the exhibition.
What Are the RM x SFMOMA Dates, Location, and Ticket Prices?
- Exhibition dates: October 3, 2026–February 7, 2027
- Member previews: October 1–3, 2026; advance member-preview tickets are currently sold out, though SFMOMA says limited same-day tickets may be available onsite
- Location: SFMOMA, Floor 7, 151 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
- Format: Nearly 200 works; approximately three-quarters from RM's collection and one-quarter from SFMOMA
- Admission: A timed "RM x SFMOMA + General Admission" ticket is required
- Exhibition surcharge: $10 on weekdays and $12 on weekends and holidays
- General admission: $30 for adults, $25 for seniors age 65 and older, $23 for full-time students with ID, and free for visitors age 18 and younger
- Members and visitors age 18 and younger: No exhibition surcharge, but a timed ticket is still required
- Same-day tickets: A limited number may be offered at the Floor 2 Ticketing Desk on a first-come, first-served basis
- Re-entry: Not permitted once a visitor leaves the special exhibition
According to SFMOMA's visitor guidelines, you should plan to arrive at least 15 minutes before your reserved time. Exhibition tickets are nontransferable, nonrefundable, and may not be resold, so confirm the date and time before checkout. The museum also offers a $75 Encore Pass with repeat exhibition access during the run, same-day general gallery admission, an onsite gift, and a discount at the Floor 7 exhibition store.
Why Is Between You and Me More Than a Celebrity Collection?
RM has collected art for almost a decade, developing a body of work shaped by personal resonance rather than a single movement, medium, or market narrative. SFMOMA invited him to become a co-curator, making this his first museum partnership in that role. He developed the exhibition with SFMOMA co-curators América Castillo and Hyoeun Kim.
That collaborative structure matters. The show does not isolate RM's collection as a private trove or use SFMOMA's holdings as background. Instead, works from both collections are placed in dialogue, allowing technique, color, mood, history, and lived experience to move between artists from different places and periods.
The approach suits a city whose art life ranges from the concentrated energy of San Francisco Art Week to a lively, year-round gallery scene. Between You and Me adds something more focused: a personal way of seeing becomes the route into a much broader story of Korean modern and contemporary art.
Which Korean Artists Are Featured?
The center of gravity is Korean modern and contemporary art, but the materials and historical references extend much further. Painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics, calligraphy, textiles, and design all appear. Many of the works from RM's collection have never previously been shown publicly in the United States.
The modern galleries at SFMOMA provide an elegant setting for exploring Korean modern and contemporary art alongside works from international collections. Photo by Dale Cruse - 12M views on Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Kim Whanki and Yun Hyong-keun provide two of the exhibition's strongest anchors. Kim's abstract language joined Korean ideas of harmony and tranquility with experiences formed in Tokyo, Paris, and New York. Yun, one of the leading figures associated with Dansaekhwa, receives a dedicated gallery of 16 works. His layered fields of ultramarine and umber turn reduced color and repeated gesture into spaces of weight, memory, and reflection.
Other major Korean artists include Chang Ucchin, Park Rehyun, Kwon Okyon, To Sangbong, Kim Yun Shin, Chung Sang Hwa, Kim Tschang-yeul, Yoo Youngkuk, and Nam June Paik. For wider regional context, pair your visit with a trip to the Asian Art Museum, whose collections span cultures and centuries across Asia.
Which Artist Pairings Should You Watch?
The exhibition's most revealing moments may be the pairings. They do not claim that artists working in different countries and decades meant the same thing. They invite a slower comparison of how form, material, and emotion can rhyme across contexts.
Kim Whanki and Yves Klein
Kim Whanki's 1970 paintings 26-I-70 and 15-VII-70 #181 appear with Yves Klein's Éponge (SE251) (Sponge [SE 251]) from 1961. Each artist treated blue as more than color: a field for distance, infinity, belonging, and metaphysical thought. Kim's repeated dots and grids produce a different rhythm from Klein's saturated monochrome, which is precisely why the encounter works.
To Sangbong and Giorgio Morandi
To Sangbong's Forsythia (1975) and Giorgio Morandi's Fiori (1949) make a quieter comparison. Both artists found compositional tension in modest arrangements of flowers and domestic vessels. Muted palettes place the attention on volume, spacing, and tonal control.
Yoo Youngkuk and Milton Avery
Yoo Youngkuk's Work (Trees) (1981) meets Milton Avery's Clear Cut Landscape (1951). Created 30 years apart, the paintings simplify landscape into color and form without draining it of feeling. Yoo's geometric intensity and Avery's flattened expanses show two distinct routes from observation toward abstraction.
Kim Tschang-yeul and Tony Feher
Kim Tschang-yeul's Waterdrops and Tony Feher's installation It Seemed a Beautiful Day use water to approach memory, loss, endurance, and healing. Their materials differ sharply, but the pairing asks how fragile, repeated forms can carry the pressure of history.
Yun Hyong-keun and Donald Judd
Yun Hyong-keun and Donald Judd were not merely curatorial counterparts; they knew one another, and Judd supported Yun's work internationally. Yun's Burnt Umber & Ultramarine (2001) appears beside Judd's To Susan Buckwalter (1964), setting painted depth against constructed space.
The broader artist list also includes Agnes Martin, Henri Matisse, Georgia O'Keeffe, Mark Rothko, and Wayne Thiebaud from SFMOMA's collection. Previewed individual works include Chang Ucchin's The River Scene (1988), Han Youngsoo's Deoksugung Palace, Jeong-Dong, Seoul (1956–1963), Wonwoo Lee's Candy valley_2023_002 (2023), Kim Yun Shin's Add Two Add One, Divide Two Divide One 2015-9 (2015), and Rothko's No. 14, 1960.
Visitors move through a contemporary gallery, pausing to compare artworks presented together and consider how different artists can create connections through color, form, and composition. Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
How Does RM's Voice Shape the Galleries?
RM's role does not stop with selecting art. He wrote bilingual wall texts and object labels, recorded an English- and Korean-language audio guide for personal listening devices, and assembled an in-gallery music playlist. Bring a charged phone and headphones if the audio experience is part of the plan.
A museum visitor uses a digital guide to explore artwork and exhibition information, reflecting the multimedia and interpretive experience available throughout the galleries. Photo by 安 崔士 on Unsplash
The thematic groupings keep the tone open. One section, Friendscape, brings human and animal figures into conversation with landscape. Another, I Don't Know But I Like It, makes room for works that resist neat categories but share the serenity, restraint, and muted color that recur throughout RM's collection.
That structure gives first-time museum visitors a generous entry point. Familiarity with BTS may bring someone through the door, but no background in RM's music or Korean art is required. The exhibition's central question is more immediate: which works hold your attention, and what changes when they are seen beside one another?
How Should You Plan a Visit to SFMOMA?
According to the official SFMOMA visitor guide, the museum is open Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Wednesday, open Thursday from noon to 8 p.m., and open Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Because exhibition capacity and museum schedules can change, check the official ticket page again before you head out.
The Third Street entrance is a few blocks from Montgomery Street BART, with several Muni routes serving the surrounding SoMa area. If you're coming from another part of the city, our San Francisco public transportation guide can help you plan the connection. Drivers can use the SFMOMA garage at 147 Minna Street; check parking availability and rates directly before arrival.
SFMOMA's exterior combines contemporary museum architecture with public art, offering a visual introduction to the museum experience in San Francisco's SoMa district. Photo by Erik on Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The museum and its gallery floors are accessible to visitors using wheeled mobility devices. SFMOMA's accessibility resources include elevators connecting the public floors, plus manual wheelchairs, portable gallery stools, and adjustable canes available at Coat Check on a first-come, first-served basis in exchange for an ID. The museum also provides Braille and large-print maps, audio descriptions for selected works, transcripts for most audio-guide stops, a sensory guide, and a social narrative. Professional personal care attendants accompanying a paying visitor may receive complimentary entry through the onsite ticket desk.
What Can You Add to an Art Day Around SFMOMA?
SFMOMA sits inside one of the city's densest cultural districts. Yerba Buena Gardens is steps away, and when its calendar lines up, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts can add another contemporary perspective. The Museum of the African Diaspora is also nearby, so a second museum fits easily into the day without turning it into a transit exercise.
Before or after the exhibition, downtown San Francisco offers several easy walks. Head southeast to explore the public spaces and architecture of the East Cut, or continue to the waterfront for South Beach restaurants and an unhurried stroll along the Embarcadero.
For a longer route, make your way to the Ferry Building for food, bay views, and transit connections. Public-art fans can also look for stops on the Big Art Loop at Portside. And if you're planning several museum visits, check San Francisco's free museum days before you settle on an itinerary.
Keep the plan breathable. Between You and Me contains nearly 200 works and an RM-narrated audio layer; it rewards attention more than speed. One nearby stop and an unhurried meal will usually make a stronger day than racing through several major institutions.
Before You Go
Reserve the combined exhibition and general-admission ticket, arrive 15 minutes early, and keep the timed ticket available for checkpoints. Bring headphones for RM's audio guide, but leave room to move through the galleries without listening to every stop. If the Floor 7 exhibition store matters, visit before exiting the exhibition because re-entry is not allowed.
Most of all, expect a museum exhibition rather than a display of memorabilia. Between You and Me uses RM's collecting eye as a beginning, then lets the works build their own relationships across geography, history, and experience. Its most memorable encounter may not be the artist or object anticipated in advance, but the one that quietly changes the work beside it.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me?
The exhibition runs from October 3, 2026, through February 7, 2027. Member previews take place October 1–3, 2026.
Where is the RM exhibition at SFMOMA?
It is on Floor 7 of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art at 151 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94103.
Is RM x SFMOMA included with general admission?
No. All visitors need a timed "RM x SFMOMA + General Admission" ticket. Standard museum admission alone does not include the special exhibition.
How much does RM x SFMOMA cost?
The special-exhibition surcharge is $10 on weekdays and $12 on weekends and holidays, added to applicable general admission. Members and visitors age 18 and younger do not pay the surcharge, but they still need a timed exhibition ticket.
How many works are in Between You and Me?
SFMOMA describes the exhibition as nearly 200 works, with roughly three-quarters drawn from RM's collection and one-quarter from SFMOMA's collection.
Which artists are featured in RM x SFMOMA?
Featured Korean artists include Kim Whanki, Yun Hyong-keun, Chang Ucchin, Park Rehyun, Kwon Okyon, To Sangbong, Kim Yun Shin, Chung Sang Hwa, Kim Tschang-yeul, Yoo Youngkuk, and Nam June Paik. International artists represented through RM's and SFMOMA's collections include Donald Judd, Yves Klein, Agnes Martin, Henri Matisse, Giorgio Morandi, Georgia O'Keeffe, Mark Rothko, Wayne Thiebaud, Milton Avery, and Tony Feher.
Does the exhibition include an audio guide?
Yes. RM recorded a special audio guide in English and Korean. The galleries also include bilingual texts and labels written by RM and an in-gallery playlist he curated. Visitors should bring a charged personal device and headphones.
Can visitors re-enter the exhibition?
No. SFMOMA states that re-entry is not allowed. Visit the Floor 7 exhibition store before leaving if it is part of the plan.