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My fieldworker paintings are originally inspired by the many great artists of the past, going back as far as Pieter Bruegel in the 16th century, and later the work of Francois Millet and others of the Naturalist movement in 19th-century France. I've also found inspiration in the novels of Salinas native, John Steinbeck, particularly his Nobel Peace Prize winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath, as well as the photography of 20th-century photographer Dorothea Lange.

My painting represented in this year's Biennial is a subject I've been painting for the past 23 years. The challenge starts to become how I can paint this subject in a new and different way, yet something always seems to come to me, some new variation on this timeless subject. I've found the solution lies in truth and keeping things contemporary. In my painting Salinas River at Dawn, I depict farmworkers in the early morning hour, just prior to the start of work at dawn, eating tamales by a campfire. This scene was described to me by a grower, and this is how I imagined it.

My paintings of fieldworkers have received mixed reactions throughout the years. Although primarily positive, there have been occasional negative reactions, I think stemming from misunderstanding and, unfortunately, sometimes social bias. In the times we are currently living, I've found myself in the middle of a social firestorm. Institutions and galleries reluctant to display my work or at least prominently, for fear of alienating their audience or clientele.

To be honest, I personally see the plight of the farmworker as a metaphor for all humanity. Certainly, I personally relate to the struggle to provide for my family and the anxiety and plethora of emotions that accompany this. To live life "on all sides" to experience the emotions and feelings of the common man is essential in living my life as an artist and being able to project this into my art. I am proud to say that farmworkers have seen my paintings and have reacted very well, expressing that my paintings "look just how it feels to be out there". It's been an ongoing learning experience for me, people interpreting my paintings in ways I never deliberately intended, as well as educating me on the very subjects I depict.

Warren Chang (b. 1957), Monterey County, Salinas River at Dawn, 2024, 24 x 30 in., oil on linen canvas.