RM's Exhibition at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art a Huge Success... 66,000 Tickets Sold After Opening

The exhibition ″RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me″ currently underway at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in the United States is gaining attention for its high visitor numbers and souvenir sales. The exhibition features RM, leader of the group BTS, as a curator, showcasing 142 pieces from his personal collection alongside 36 pieces from SFMOMA’s collection. The works include paintings, calligraphy, sculptures, and Pokémon animation cels, with Yun Hyong-keun’s ″Umber-Blue″ and Mark Rothko’s ″No. 24″ displayed side by side. An audio guide and playlist recorded by RM himself, as well as an exhibition room named ″I Don’t Really Know, But I Like It,″ have also been prepared. The British daily The Guardian reported on the 24th (local time) the exhibition’s success, stating that over 66,000 tickets have been sold since the opening, with advance bookings reaching six times the museum’s previous record for exhibitions. Souvenirs at the museum shop and online store sold out within three hours. Shane Salvatore, head of the museum shop, said, ″This is something we have never experienced before, and probably will never experience again.″ SFMOMA recorded a $5 million deficit last year and cut 7.5% of its staff, but has seen a financial turnaround thanks to this exhibition. On the opening day, hundreds of fans lined up in front of the museum, with one holding a sign saying, ″I came from London to see RM.″ Fans also gave reporters handmade bookmarks and keychains as gifts. Overseas fans reacted on X (formerly Twitter) with comments such as, ″Selling 66,000 tickets for an art exhibition? Even K-pop concerts don’t reach those numbers,″ and ″An artist’s power is not measured by fans’ cheers but by how far their influence reaches beyond their field. That’s the RM effect.″ The exhibition will run until February 7, 2027. Curator America Castillo, who first planned the exhibition, revealed that she proposed it to RM two years ago while he was serving in the military. Castillo said, ″People are crying right in front of me in the exhibition space. It’s completely unexpected and a beautiful surprise.″ At a press preview before the opening, RM said, ″There are few things that show a person as honestly as a collection gathered over a long time,″ adding, ″I have not formally studied art history nor am I a curator. It might be a mess.″ He continued, ″Sometimes an outsider can bring a fresh breeze,″ and ″I started with a pure heart, but I never imagined that pure heart would make me write, erase, and rewrite the artwork descriptions hundreds of times.″ The Guardian evaluated that while RM’s fame overshadows the exhibition, the collection and curation themselves are impressive. It also reported that among Korean gallery officials, RM is called ″Doctor″ due to his deep knowledge.