Allan McCollum’s “surrogate” paintings critique the social conventions, desires, and elitism associated with conventional painting. In lieu of a picture within the frame, here he provides only a black void. By calling these works surrogates, McCollum refers to the Hydro-Stone rectangles as mere stand-ins that simulate painting. Presenting the surrogates clustered in groups like a nineteenth-century Salon exhibition, he accentuates their interchangeable uniformity. In addition, McCollum employs a team of assistants to make these works, thereby parodying both the value placed on the artist’s hand and traditional notions of authorship.