Erasmo Fuentes de Hoyos is a Mexican-born Mormon sculptor who resides in Mapleton, Utah. Among his more well known works is "Anxiously Engaged" (made with his son Alex Fuentes) which is a 7-foot-tall sculpture of Mormon missionaries on bikes; the sculpture is displayed at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Fuentes was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, but was raised in Saltillo, Mexico as a Latter-day Saint. He first came to the United States to work in 1964 and studied sculpture at Brigham Young University, graduating in 1968. He also was on the BYU Ballroom Dance Company, which was founded by his uncle, Benjamin F. de Hoyos. Fuentes studied particularly under Dallas Anderson.

LDS

LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

Cynthia Fuentes

Alex Fuentes

1943

Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

Brigham Young University

In 1983 Erasmo returned to Saltillo, Mexico to pursue a career as an artist. He started out carving wood and stone, and in 1984 he started his own bronze foundry, the first in the city of Saltillo. Being the son of a taxidermist, and having spent his youth sculpting taxidermy forms for his father, Erasmo first developed an interest in sculpting wildlife. Through the years, however, he has developed an unusual ability to sculpt across themes and mediums. Erasmo can go from creating a beautiful, technically accurate ballerina to sculpting an inspiring portrait of the Savior, or a powerful, anatomically precise mule deer. He can capture the femininity and sensuality of a woman as well as the innocence and joy of a child at play. Erasmo has proven to be a master at carving wood or stone, as well as modeling clay or working wrought iron. What makes Erasmo different from other sculptors is that Erasmo did not learn art in a classroom or through years of practice and experience. Erasmo was simply born gifted. While other artists are trapped in one medium and one theme, afraid to stray from sculpting only children, or only wildlife, Erasmo has proven to be a true master artist, able to create anything from almost any medium. As if this were not enough, Erasmo is a self-taught professional guitarist. His music, which is playing in the background on this website, has been praised and admired throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, and South America. Erasmo's goal with his art has always been to touch people's lives. His uncanny ability to capture emotion, create movement, and portray life is the defining signature in all his work.

Brigham Young University

Male

Artist, Sculptor