After a visit to Paris in 1906 he moved into Post-Impressionism and then a Neo-primitive style which derived partly from Russian sign painting.

In 1908 he staged the Golden Fleece exhibition in Moscow, which included paintings by international avant-garde artists such as Matisse, Derain, Braque, Gauguin and Van Gogh.

He was especially a close friend and mentor to Tatlin; however, the latter broke off their relations in 1912 and started openly criticizing him, supposedly to escape Larionov's "monolithic authority".

[1] Larionov was a founding member of two important Russian artistic groups Jack of Diamonds (1909–1911) and the more radical Donkey's Tail (1912–1913).

He staged public performance art featuring participants with painted faces and dressed in eccentric clothes.