LARISCH, Kurt, (Austrian/Mexican, 1913-2009): Surreal Composition with Large Loose-Leaf Paper Falling on a Crowd of Tiny People, Oil/Canvas, 24" x 36", signed lower right, signed verso and marked "U-61", unframed. Kurt Larisch was born into a family of third generation artists in Vienna, Austria in 1913. He was first exposed to art in his grandfather's sculpture studio and in the photography and painting atelier of his father. He established himself as a graphic artist and was one of the first in Europe to involve himself in the new field of animated film.In 1938 political instability interrupted his work and Kurt Larisch found himself in England, then in India. He became art director in one of India's new and most progressive advertising agencies. There were 25 major languages to deal with; it was a challenge which left a deep impression on him. Kurt Larisch was obsessed with man's predicament in a world hell-bent on self-destruction. His Kafkaesque, surrealistic message is, as one critic put it, "a civilized protest against dehumanization." In his work with bright colors, Kurt Larisch expresses a critical view of conformity and dehumanization through large geometric elements that include masses of tiny human figures. Submitted by Bill Indursky, AskArt Archives.