Horacio Cifuentes

Horacio Cifuentes

• Needlepainting Artist
• Born 1956, Cartagena, Colombia
• Lives and works internationally

Artistic Discipline

Needlepainting · Embroidery · Textile Art · Sacred & Narrative Art

Biography (Short)

Horacio Cifuentes is a Colombian needlepainting artist whose practice merges traditional embroidery techniques with large-scale narrative and sacred imagery. Inspired in his youth by indigenous Colombian textile traditions, he began working with needle and thread at the age of 16. His artistic development unfolded alongside an international performing arts career, culminating in decades of autodidactic practice and advanced training in Europe.

Education & Training

• 2015 – Advanced Embroidery Studies, Maison Lesage, Paris
• 2016–present – Private study with master artist Salvarael Lalique

Professional Experience

• Soloist, San Francisco Ballet
  Worked extensively on needlepainting projects backstage at the San Francisco Opera House
• International touring artist with ORIENTAL FANTASY, alongside Beata Cifuentes
  Designed and hand-embroidered stage costumes for the production

Major Works

• The Land of Hope – Monumental needlepainting (completed over nine years)

Exhibitions

• 2011 – The Lord of Needle and Thread, Colombian Consulate, Berlin

Publications & Film

• Author of a children’s story adapted into the animated film
  Pepito’s Journey in the Land of Hope
  The film features imagery drawn from The Land of Hope and conveys moral values and guidance for children of all ages.

Appointments & Honors

2025 – Appointed Custodian and Curator, Salvarael Lalique Sacred Art Collection

Works

1-Land of Hope – 125 cm x 135 cm – 9 years

Somewhere, on the other side of right or wrong, there is a Land of Hope, in which our sorrows are washed away and our wishes brought into realitiy.

8-Men´s Ballet Class – 37 cm x 47 cm – 6 months

This work is dedicated to the memory of Horacio´s beloved ballet teacher during his time at the San Francisco Ballet Maestro Anatole Vilzak (1896 – 1998), Imperial Ballet School St. Petersburg.

10-Arrival to the Silver World – 59 cm x 120 cm – 4 years

The Spirit of a Cosmic Dancer decends in a chariot drawn by shining bees upon the Silver World of divine music and sounds.

16-Smile of a Rose – 67 cm x 129 cm – 3 years – Frame courtesy of Helena de Vallier, CH

In the curve of its petals the rose smiles at the one who listens in stillness.

20-Roses in Gold – 50 cm x 70 cm – 2 years

With their beauty the roses fill the air with fragrance and golden light.

27-The Peacock – 6 months

List of Works

Colombian Works

Ballet Works

Other Worlds

Videos

Art by Horacio

Pepito in the land of hope