Kazutoshi Sugiura is a contemporary printmaker who has created his own distinct, layered style of Japanese silkscreen printing. His work focuses on flowers, in particular the iris and peony. Sugiura was born in Kyoto and attended Kyoto College of Fine Arts. Showing 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 and brings to mind the art of Japanese screen painting. He applies 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. His designs have an immediate appeal and are timeless, elegant and serene.