Last updated: 28 October 2026
Matt Bollinger is the American artist behind vivid paintings and stop-motion films about working-class life in a fictional Missouri town. Here you will find our take on his work, where to see Matt Bollinger now, how to buy a painting through his London gallery, and his small portrait in this year’s War Child auction.
Our take on Matt Bollinger
Bollinger paints the people of Holmes, Missouri, a small town he invented. His characters are contractors, retail workers, road crews, parents and teenagers, drawn from his family and his own memories of the Ozarks. He also turns the paintings into stop-motion animations. “It’s helpful for me to have a place where the work exists when I’m not around to make it,” he told JIMON.
His War Child piece, Sun Spots, is flashe and acrylic on wood. It shows a young woman from the shoulders up, with her hair pulled back and a heavy fringe. Her face is in violet shadow, broken up by patches of brown and peach, like light coming through leaves. A flash of hot pink lights up her ear and the strap on her shoulder. Behind her, a dusky pink and cream sky sits over dark green trees.
Colour is the point here. “Good painting can be like a poke in the eye,” he said in the same interview. He has had three solo shows at mother’s tankstation in London since 2021, so London collectors already know him. This is a rare chance to own one of his paintings at postcard size.
Matt Bollinger: the essentials
- Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1980; lives and works in Ithaca, New York, according to François Ghebaly.
- Studied painting and creative writing at the Kansas City Art Institute (BFA, 2003), then took an MFA in Painting at the Rhode Island School of Design (2007).
- Works across painting, drawing, stop-motion animation, sculpture and music. He teaches as visiting faculty in art at Cornell University.
- Received New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships in painting in 2015 and 2021, and a Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program fellowship in 2016 to 2017.
- Museum shows include the South Bend Museum of Art (2020) and the Westmoreland Museum of American Art (2022). His work is in the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas, and the Grinnell College Museum of Art, Iowa.
- Represented by mother’s tankstation, London and Dublin, and François Ghebaly, Los Angeles and New York.
Where to see Matt Bollinger now
- Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The piece is Sun Spots (2026), flashe and acrylic on wood, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page.
- Parade’s End (solo), mother’s tankstation, Dublin, 14 May to 27 June 2026.
- Dawn (solo), mother’s tankstation, London, 17 January to 7 March 2026.
- Homecoming (solo), François Ghebaly, Los Angeles, 28 June to 26 July 2025.
- halftime (solo), mother’s tankstation, London, 9 May to 29 June 2024.
How to buy a Matt Bollinger painting
Matt Bollinger has no prints on sale at the moment. These are the ways to buy his work:
- Sun Spots, 2026: a small flashe and acrylic on wood in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).
- Paintings and drawings: through mother’s tankstation in London and Dublin, or François Ghebaly in the US, price on request.
Matt Bollinger FAQs
Which gallery represents Matt Bollinger in the UK?
mother’s tankstation, which has galleries in London and Dublin. In the US he shows with François Ghebaly.
Where is Holmes, Missouri?
It does not exist. Holmes is a fictional small town that Bollinger invented, drawn from upstate New York, where he lives, and the Missouri of his childhood.
Does Matt Bollinger make films?
Yes. He makes stop-motion animations from his own paintings, which he shows alongside them in his exhibitions.
Where can I see Matt Bollinger’s work in London?
His War Child piece, Sun Spots, is on view at Iconic Images Gallery from 6 to 8 November 2026.
More from CoolCuration
- Louis Fratino at David Zwirner review: another American figurative painter showing in London.
- Frieze London guide: where to find the best new painting at the fair.
- Art on a Postcard: another charity art sale where small works by big names go for less.
- Best affordable art in the UK: prints and originals under £500.
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Main image: Matt Bollinger. Courtesy the artist, via JIMON. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 28 October 2026.
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