Iris No 134 — 花菖蒲 No 134

Entry one hundred thirty-four in Sugiura Kazutoshi's iris series captures the hana-shōbu in what appears to be a late-afternoon light — the color temperature of the composition suggesting the warm diffusion characteristic of the golden hour rather than the cooler clarity of morning. Sugiura's training in classical Japanese painting at the Kyoto National Museum gave him an acute sensitivity to the seasonal and diurnal variations in natural light, and this sensitivity informed his printmaking throughout his career. The numbered iris series spans what appears to be multiple decades of sustained production.