Marfa, West Texas: Chinati Foundation; things to do

Chinati Foundation   1 Cavalry Row, (432) 729-4362.  Visitor center open W-Sun 9am-5pm.  Guided tours $10-$25; limited access self-guided tour $5-$10.  Reservations advised.

entrance to Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas
Founded in 1986 by acclaimed sculptor Donald Judd, who fell in love with the area’s light and shadows, this display space installs works on a permanent basis.  It displays enormous indoor and outdoor installations.  Judd’s 100 large-scale concrete boxes formed from aluminum are displayed through two stark, clean-lined, very large buildings.  Six former barracks display Don Flavin’s colored fluorescent light installations.  The facility encompasses 34 buildings on 340 acres of land that was formerly a military base known as Fort D.A. Russell.

gift shop at Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas





Another building downtown displays John Chamberlain’s 22 sculptures formed from wrecked car pieces. 

exterior of downtown Chinati Foundation center in Marfa, Texas

exhibit of John Chamberlain pieces at downtown Chinati Foundation center in Marfa, Texas

More things to do in Marfa.

Itinerary for road trip through West Texas.

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images ©2020 Carole Terwilliger Meyers