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‘Sleeping Figure’

Twelve decommissioned shipping containers evoke a reclining person in Marfa, Texas.

Marfa, Texas

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“Sleeping Figure” stretches 150 feet end to end.   GREG MEYER md / Atlas Obscura User
An overhead view.   GREG MEYER md / Atlas Obscura User
View from the “feet.”   GREG MEYER md / Atlas Obscura User
Just north of the sculpture are active freight train tracks.   GREG MEYER md / Atlas Obscura User
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Just east of Marfa, Texas, and just north of U.S. Highway 67 is a hard-to-miss pile of shipping containers that isn't just random. Conceived by the Los Angeles-based artist Matt Johnson and originally installed in Coachella Valley, California, the sprawling sculpture was relocated in 2024 and now sits in the Marfa Invitational sculpture park, about a mile outside of town. “Sleeping Figure” is constructed of 12 shipping containers, spreading 150 feet long and reaching 40 feet high, evoking the form of a reclining person. The Los Angeles Times art critic wrote that the work “takes on the mythologies of land art unique to the West.”

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“Sleeping Figure” is part of the Marfa Invitational Sculpture Park, which is open for limited hours, but the sculpture is easily visible from nearby roads.

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Published

July 8, 2025

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