Introduction
CHASE Project: Phase Shift
Once a proud symbol of financial power, first as the Bank of New York in the 1960s and then as Chase Bank in the 1990s, this building no longer serves its original purpose. In an age shaped by a global pandemic and rapid digitalization, grand bank buildings like this have become obsolete. The meaning and function of this space have reached a turning point.
Now, with only its steel skeleton and memories remaining, the building stands on the brink of transformation. Reborn as “The Bank,” it will become a hybrid cultural space where food, art, and residence converge. The exhibition CHASE Project: Phase Shift marks the beginning of that transformation. It is both a statement and a scene of change.
“Phase Shift” refers not to simple change, but to a fundamental transformation in function and meaning. The six participating artists respond not only to the building’s physical structure, but also to the emotional, cultural, and existential resonances carried within this shift.
Shin Kiwoun approaches the essence of existence through physical abrasion and disintegration. Using sanders and grinders, he wears down various everyday objects such as coins, figurines, cassette tapes, books, and cell phones. His process erases form while embedding time and memory into the material. This gesture was inspired by a semiotic question he encountered in graduate school: is a chair better represented through an image, a word, or its real presence? Ultimately, he began to wonder about the chair in its molecular or atomic form. What began as a material experiment evolved into a meditative practice. Objects with vivid colors and clear structures are ground down into a gray powder, revealing the boundary between presence and absence, between memory and forgetting. His work questions how a stripped object might recover meaning, and suggests that transformation can be a quiet return to essence.
Kim Hong Bin visualizes the inner reality of change through layered clashes of color and texture. Paint accumulates on canvas, only to be scratched, torn, and burst. Within the boldness of primary color and apparent chaos lie fragments of feeling, memories of rupture. His compositions remind us that transformation often breaks equilibrium and calls for new structures to emerge.
Anon constructs sculptural surfaces that express sensory layering, using color and texture as core visual language. Through repetition—layering, tearing, rolling, attaching—she creates bas-relief works using textiles, paper, and fiber. These forms stimulate both touch and sight, forming spaces that resonate emotionally. Her compositions, both rhythmic and organic, breathe quiet vitality into the architectural shell. In this exhibition, she lends warmth and emotional texture to a transitional space, gently illuminating the inner tremors of change.
Anikoon proposes a playful and sensory response to change through whimsical form and color. His robot-like sculptures, adorned with buttons, gears, and vibrant hues, are not functional machines but agents of imagination. Beyond their visual charm, they speak to the joy and surprise we hope to find in unfamiliar moments of transition.
Im Jibin reactivates abandoned spaces by combining architectural scale with poetic imagination. His large, balloon-like figures press out through windows or emerge from vacant interiors. These playful interventions bring humor and energy back into deserted structures. His work visualizes a longing for spaces where people might gather again and reconnect.
Koo Nahyun captures the persistence of human intimacy within environments in flux. Drawn directly onto walls, her figures and animals share quiet moments of warmth, even in the midst of collapse. The faded tones echo the building’s incompleteness, while her compositions remind us that familiar emotions can survive inside unfamiliar spaces. Change does not always mean something new. Sometimes, it is what stays that matters most.
This is no longer a vault, but a vessel for possibility. <CHASE Project: Phase Shift> marks the beginning of that transformation.