[2] Heavily influenced by Marxist ideology, the artists emphasized interrogating established aesthetic and political norms while expressing the plight of marginalized and oppressed people.
They rejected the revivalism associated with nationalist artists like Abanindranath Tagore and the Bengal School, preferring to use cheap alternative materials like cloth and plaster to reflect the lives of the poor in a postcolonial context.
After Mathew and fellow Trivandram alumni K. M. Madhusudhanan began studying in Baroda, Krishnakumar joined them to continue his pursuit of a Marxist, subversive Indian art.
For example, Krishnakumar's sculpture "Vasco de Gama," inspired by his time in Goa, uses contemporary materials like painted plaster to draw parallels between European colonialism and the emergence of capitalism in twentieth-century India, a contrast to the more idealistic perspective of Geeta Kapur's essay in the "A Place of People" catalogue.
[6] In addition to being heavily influenced by German Expressionism, the group, especially Krishnakumar, also drew inspiration from Western artists like Pablo Picasso and Auguste Rodin.