RM—whose real name is Kim Namjoon—is increasingly making a name for himself in another, more surprising role—that of patron of the arts
RM reportedly owns works by KAWS, Ugo Rondinone and Joel Shapiro, as well as Yun Hyong-Keun, Chang Ucchin and Lee Bae.
Image: Anthony Wallace / AFP
K-pop aficionados know RM mostly through the successful boy band, BTS. But the South Korean singer is increasingly making a name for himself in another, more surprising role—that of patron of the arts.
The slightest post by RM—whose real name is Kim Namjoon—causes a stir on social networks. The ones in which he presents the various works from his art collection are no exception. One such post focuses on "Untitled (But the boomerang that returns is not the same one I threw)", a sculpture by American multidisciplinary artist Roni Horn taking the form of a hefty-looking, translucent glass cylinder. The South Korean rapper reportedly acquired it from the Belgian gallery owner Xavier Hufkens for $1.2 million, according to ARTnews.
And that's not all. From the look of his Instagram account, RM appears to own pieces by KAWS, Ugo Rondinone, Joel Shapiro, as well as his compatriots Yun Hyong-Keun, Chang Ucchin and Lee Bae. An impressive collection for a 27-year-old art fan.
However, it isn't always easy for budding collectors to take their first steps in a world of codes and conventions like the art world. But it takes more than that to discourage Millennial collectors, like RM. These young people born between 1980 and 2000 invest more in art today than any other category of buyers. Their median spend was $378,000 in the first half of 2021, according to the Art Basel and UBS report. That's almost four times as much as baby boomers.
Some of these 20-to-40-year-olds have already opened private museums, like the Chinese collector, Michael Xufu Huang. For his part, RM has ambitions to open an art gallery, as he explained in an episode of Intersections: The Art Basel Podcast. This would be a calm, quiet place, possibly with a small café at street level.