Allison Schulnik’s music video directorial debut for Grizzly Bear’s “Ready, Able” is – in a word – incredible.

The 4 minute and 30 second stop-motion animated piece was meticulously crafted out of clay by the artist, and uses the beloved Hobo Clown character oftentimes seen in her paintings.

Pitchfork calls it “mesmerizing,” but see it for yourself either on the Grizzly Bear website or YouTube. Round of applause for Allison…now for the VMA nom….

If the response to Kiel Johnson’s “Publish or Perish” is any indication, the artist needn’t worry about perishing any time soon. The LA Times, LA Weekly and ArtInfo all published glowing reviews of Johnson’s current exhibition at Mark Moore Gallery this week.

Johnson himself even acted as a contributor for ArtInfo, as they asked him to furnish them with his “Top 5 LA Gallery Picks.” Check out the various articles below, and get in to see the show before it closes on November 14th!

ArtInfo

LA Weekly

LA Times

While Kiel Johnson’s current solo show gathers speed here at MMG, the prolific artist is also participating in “Molasses Happens Rather Quickly” – a group exhibition orchestrated by Phantom Galleries in Long Beach, CA.

Bonus points: starting on October 24th, Phantom Galleries made it possible for visitors to walk along a self-guided tour of each of the various exhibition locations, guided by a published map that charts their course. In case that isn’t cool enough, viewers can use their cell phone to dial an assigned extension, which connect with an informative message from the exhibiting artist or curator. Hello, cell phone audio tours!

For more information, visit Everything Long Beach or Phantom Galleries‘ website.

Co-curated by Patricia Cazorla and Susan Hoeltzel, “Beyond Appearances” at the Lehman College Art Gallery celebrates the gallery’s 25th anniversary, as well as artists that oftentimes employ their own image in their works.

Showing alongside greats such as Eleanor Antin, Nick Cave and Kara Walker, Julie Heffernan will have her allegorical self-portraits included. For more information on the exhibition on view through November 12, 2009, click here.

Flatbush Ave Extension opened their group show, “Too Big to Fail: Big Paintings” on October 23 – featuring new work by MMG’s Allison Schulnik alongisde Erik Parker, Liz Markus, Kenny Scharf, Brian Faucette and several others.

On view through January 23, 2010, the show is sponsored by Lamontagne Gallery and New Art Dealers Alliance, and was recently a PICK on ArtCat! Jump on the subway and head over to Brooklyn to check it out…

Torrance Art Museum is at it again with its inaugural group exhibition, “ZOOM.” Opening on Saturday, November 21, 2009 from 6 -9 pm, the group show will feature 12 emerging artists from the Los Angeles area, including MMG’s Nobuhito Nishigawara and Ali Smith.

Other artists include David Adey, Kelly Barrie, York Chang, Allison Cortson, Roni Feldman, Tony Maher, Daniel Nevers, Andrew Schoultz, Christina Shurts and Cheryl Sorg. For more information, visit TAM’s website.

Dunn and Brown Contemporary (Dallas, TX) will host their 10th Anniversary Exhibition November 5 – December 19, 2009, featuring work by MMG’s Vernon Fisher as well as William Wegman, Amy Myers and over thirty others.

If you’re in the area, swing by the opening reception on Thursday, November 5 from 6 – 8 pm!

Kiel Johnson opened his solo show last Saturday (10/17) to a jam-packed gallery and a few lovely write-ups! Chris Stanton of Daily duJour noted the show in his “Seen” section, while Look Into My Owl noted Kiel’s individuality.

Johnson’s video documenting the production of his pin-hole camera, “The Twin-Lens Reflex” (directed by Theo Jemison) is darn-near 30,000 views today on Vimeo, and was featured in the gallery show. If you haven’t already, watch it now by clicking here!

Thanks to everyone who came out to support Kiel’s new body of work – check out the complete collection of event photos on Mark Moore Gallery’s Facebook page, and tag yourself!

Newly represented artist, Mario Ybarra Jr., recently had one of his benchmark works acquired by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

“Go Tell It #1″ will now be a part of the museum’s permanent collection. Curator of Contemporary Art, Julie Joyce, informed MMG that she was “thrilled” by the committee’s decision to acquire the work.

The Laguna Beach Art Museum will be featuring some of the most significant works of art created in California over the last 150 years in their upcoming exhibition, Collecting California: Selections from Laguna Art Museum.

Mark Moore Gallery’s Allison Schulnik is among the featured artists, alongside Kendell Carter, Peter Alexander and others. Collecting California will be on view November 8, 2009 – January 17, 2010.