Daffodil No 3

The third entry in Sugiura Kazutoshi's daffodil series applies his distinctive multi-layered printmaking process to a flower that occupies a different cultural register than his signature Japanese garden irises — the daffodil (suisen in Japanese) was introduced from China and carries associations of early spring and scholarly refinement in the Japanese tradition. The trumpet form of the daffodil offers Sugiura a different compositional geometry than the broad-petaled irises, and the characteristic layering of woodblock, silkscreen, and gold-leaf application gives the bloom a luminous warmth appropriate to the flower's association with emerging spring light.