Pencil signed and numbered, this is Iris No. 16, number 42/96, published in 1981. Being a dai-oban, this is one of the larger of Sugiura’s signature iris prints.
The Woodblock Print
The woodblock print is in very good condition; great colors layered on top of the gold leaf. There are signs of foxing in the margins, but those are only to be found in the outer parts of the abundant margins.
About the Artist
Kazutosh Sugiura is a contemporary artist/printmaker who has created his own distinct, layered style of silkscreen printing, focusing on flowers, in particular the iris and peony. Kazutosh was born in Kyoto and attended Kyoto College of Fine Arts. Displaying exceptional talent as a student, he was commissioned by the International Graphic Art Society in New York to do an edition of silkscreen prints. After graduating in 1963, he spent four years studying classical Japanese painting and the art of gold leaf restoration at Kyoto National Museum of Antiquities. The use of gold leaf and rich saturated colors has become the hallmark of his prints, applying the gold leaf to the paper prior to the silkscreen process. This gives his works a textured, three dimensional quality that adds to his dramatic, yet intimate, compositions.
