Painters Ezra Johnson and Matt Bollinger work across painting and handcrafted animation, and both are drawn to the textures of everyday American life — houses, haircuts, the quiet weight of ordinary moments. Two Coats of Paint invited the two to have a conversation on the occasion of their 2026 exhibitions: Johnson’s “Home and Garden Show” at Freight + Volume in New York, and Bollinger’s “Dawn” at mother’s tankstation in Dublin. The two artists speak here as peers, moving between close readings of each other’s work and reflections on their own practices. They discuss the relationship between painting and animation, the question of when a painting is “done,” and how handmade roughness can carry more truth than technical finish.
