ADAM'S IMPORTANT IRISH ART 24th September 2025

74 44 BARRIE COOKE HRHA (1931-2014) Phytophthora Infestans III (1995) Oil on canvas, 115 x 172cm (45¼ x 67¾’’) Signed, inscribed and dated 1995 verso Provenance: With Art Space Gallery, London, label verso € 8,000 - 12,000 Barrie Cooke’s Phytophthora Infestans III stands as a com- pelling testament to the poetically visceral and environ- mentally conscious oeuvre that defines the latter stages of his artistic trajectory. Embedded in the title is a direct allusion to the notorious organism responsible for the dev- astating potato blight of the mid-19th century — an entity that shaped Irish history both tragically and profoundly. As Aidan Dunne eloquently observes, Cooke’s work often evokes the “insidious, fatal beauty of Phytophthora Infes- tans,” the fungus that annihilated the potato harvests and fueled the Great Famine. [1] In this painting, Cooke channels that duality of allure and horror. His rich, gestural brushwork dissolves and reforms in waves of deep, saturated color—guttural greens, ochres, blackened tones. These elements coalesce into an immer- sive, organic abstraction that feels simultaneously beautiful and menacing, much like the pathogen it references. The canvas pulses with a kind of biological life: the swarming, spectral forms seem to grow and decay, morphing before our eyes. As with many of his later works, Cooke confronts the viewer with nature not as idealised pastoral, but as raw, elemental, and vulnerable to disease, decay, and environmental pres- sure. This is in keeping with his ongoing ecological con- cerns—from polluted Irish waterways, algae outbreaks in Lough Arrow, and the ravages of disease — where Cooke’s art becomes a stark, empathetic record of environmental trauma and transformation. Beyond its thematic weight, Phytophthora Infestans III exemplifies Cooke’s expressive mastery: his signature spontaneity and tactile layering evoke both growth and dissolution, inviting the viewer to engage with the material presence of paint as ecological matter. The painting em- bodies a residue of natural catastrophes—at once beautiful, discomforting, and unforgettable. This work epitomizes Cooke’s capacity to translate en- vironmental frailty into aesthetic urgency—revealing his profound empathy with nature’s fragility and his belief that, as an artist, one must bear witness to both its poetic vitality and its ruin. [1] Aidan Dunne, The Irish Times , 13th September, 2003