Allan McCollum is known for installations consisting of large numbers of handmade objects governed by the logic of industrial repetition and standardization. Often developed through collaborative processes, his work investigates the relationships among serial production, labor, and value in mass culture, as well as the ways objects acquire meaning in contemporary society.

"Collection of Five Plaster Surrogates" (1982–91) belongs to one of his most emblematic series, in which he investigates the relationships among originality, reproduction, and circulation within the art system. These “surrogates” – frames with monochromatic central fields – serve as substitutes for paintings, emptied of image and authorial gesture yet still legible as art objects. Produced in series, with subtle variations in size, proportion, and color, these works challenge the idea of uniqueness while also evoking the logic of repetition and standardization.