Inspired by cinema, photography, music and literature, Monet has a natural sense for modern culture and his contemporaries. His signature conceptual assemblage of text, texture and color exudes eccentricity and empowerment of its time, exemplifying the personalities of its icons. His portrait work blends collage of old newspapers and books, painting and varnishing; the traits of his characters are recreated with such precision that one might see a realistic photograph arising from a distance.