Career
In 1913, he became so enthralled and driven as artist that he became a teacher at the school in North Brabant, and went to live in Rotterdam. In 1917, he became one of the founders of the Rotterdam-based artistic movement known as "De Branding". Other members included Herman Bieling, Ger ladage (aka Gerwhl), Bernard Toon Gits, January Sirks and Wim Schmacher.
He made a series of works, similar to futurism, inspired by the sounds and movements in the city of Rotterdam.
In the years 1916–1918 he worked together with Bernard Toon Gits. Together they created "synthetic" or "synthetic-psychologic" portraits, from themselves and from each other.
Van Kuik named his work at that period "transcendent realism". In 1918, he changed to producing a more figurative art
He made single pictures and started painting his well-known intense portraits and masks.
These works are very similar to tribal art Art critic Kasper Niehaus wrote: "If the negros would not only sculpt but also paint, They would probably do it in Laurens van Kuik"s style." In 1927 he moves to Paris and later in Den Haag and Amsterdam. Except for "De Branding" did van Kuik associate with "De Volstrekt Modernenen", "De Onafhankelijken", "De Anderen" and "De Sphinx".
