8A WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014 INTERNATIONAL EDITION MiamiHerald.com MIAMI HERALD

ART

Where the art scene is on pointBY PAOLA SINGERThe New York Times

This January, the Uruguay-an musician, writer and visual artist Dani Umpi had a solo exhibition in Punta del Este, a resort town on Uruguay’s eastern coast. It was held at Galerie Xippas, a sleek show-room recently opened by the Paris-based dealer Renos Xip-pas. Hanging on the gallery’s walls were bright collages made of endless tiny scraps of magazine images, and shadow boxes containing bird faces wearing neon wigs, a vivid display of Umpi’s penchant for bizarreness and sarcasm.

Cutting-edge art and high-profi le galleries are new to Uruguay, a country that is typically associated with modesty and restraint. But its eastern coast — particularly Punta del Este and the nearby villages of Jose Ignacio and Pueblo Garzon — has become a warm-weather winter hang-out for wealthy globe-trotters. Between tanning at the beach and shimmying at poolside parties, they are scooping up local paintings and sculptures.

For much of the past cen-tury, Uruguay’s respectable but somewhat insular art scene was largely infl uenced by a geometric abstract style known as constructivism, pi-oneered in the early 1900s by painter Joaquin Torres Garcia. In the new millennium, local artists became more experi-mental in an age of free-fl ow-ing information. “A few years ago I began to see that Uru-guay started moving in a very interesting direction,” said Xippas (whose Xippas gallery is at Avenida Roosevelt and Calle Oslo; 598-4-248-9451; xippas.com). “There’s a new generation with fresh, ironic ideas.”

He plans to relocate to a bigger space set on 15 acres halfway between downtown Punta del Este and Jose Ignacio.

Across the road from Xippa’s future establish-ment is the Fundacion Pablo

Atchugarry (Route 104, ki-lometer 4.5; 598-4-277-5563; fundacionpabloatchugarry.org), a nonprofi t arts center run by Pablo Atchugarry, an artist from Montevideo who gained international recogni-tion with a series of massive, intricately shaped abstract sculptures carved out of marble. The center hosts ex-hibitions by artists such as Le Corbusier and emerging local talents like Rita Fischer.

His 27-year-old son, Piero, is the latest member of the coast-al art crowd. Six months ago, he opened a gallery in Tierra Garzon, a 400-acre ranch that’s being transformed into a cultural destination. Aside from the Piero Atchugarry Gallery (Camino a Pueblo Garzon, kilometer 2; 917-858-2985; pieroatchugarry.com), which occupies a converted stable, the estate also has modern residences for visiting artists and a rural hotel that it still under construction.

Tierra Garzon is just out-side Pueblo Garzon, a once-forgotten railroad town that came back to life when the chef Francis Mallmann opened a chic inn and restaurant there.

But the area’s most remark-able transformation happened 23 miles east, in Jose Ignacio. This deceptively rustic pen-insula, which just a decade ago was a slumbering fi sh-ing village, is now one of the most coveted vacation spots in South America. It’s also be-coming an art hub, thanks in

part to Alexander Vik, a Nor-wegian fi nancier and art col-lector who built art-focused luxury resorts, Estancia Vik Jose Ignacio (Camino Eugenio Sainz Martinez, km 8; 598-9-460-5212; estanciavikjoseigna-cio.com) and Playa Vik Jose Ignacio (Calle de Los Cisnes y Calle Los Horneros; 598-9-460-5212; playavik.com). Both are decorated with a collection of locally made sculptures, murals and paintings. “We get a lot of requests from guests who want to buy art and meet the artists,” Vik said.

A third property, Bahia Vik (Ruta 10, kilometer 183; 598-9-460-5212; bahiavik.com), is scheduled to open in Sep-tember (when many of the area’s businesses reopen af-ter a winter break) on a quiet beach on the south side of the peninsula. Given the enthusi-astic reactions to the works at his other lodgings, Vik is out-fi tting this 37-room hotel with an art boutique.

Even some of the country’s more traditional galleries are making their way to the vil-lage. Galeria de Las Misiones (Calle las Garzas; 598-4-244-4092; galeriamisiones.com), which owns a collection of 20th-century Uruguayan art, opened an exhibition room just steps from the beach. It’s the place to see and buy works by the likes of Pedro Figari, a post-impressionist painter born in 1861, who became a key fi gure of Uruguay’s previ-ous artistic heyday.

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new report by Florida TaxWatch confirms the significant impact of foreign real estate buyers in Florida and South Florida and predicts the future demand from this market segment.

Foreign buyers have undoubtedly strengthened the Florida housing market and economy – and helped the South Florida market recover from the downturn faster and stronger than any other. Better understanding purchases by international buyers helps businesses and policymakers make decisions that will help diversify and stabilize Florida’s economy even further.

The Florida TaxWatch report analyzes data for the most recent five years of sales of Florida homes to non-resident international buyers, using the yearly “profile of International Home Buyers in Florida,” produced by the National Association of Realtors. International buyers in Florida accounted for almost $30 billion in purchases over the past three years and is an important component of the housing markets in various metropolitan areas in the state and more prominently in Miami.

Florida is consistently the state with the largest share of real estate sales to international citizens. Within the state, South Florida is the favorite among foreign buyers looking for cultural affinity and an exciting lifestyle unparalleled anywhere else in the U.S. - and at affordable prices.

Florida has long been dependent on its real estate market for growth and stability, as shown in a recent Florida TaxWatch report detailing the impact of housing starts on the Florida economy. International buyers look at the U.S. market as a place where their property rights are secure, and often times invest in a property for both personal enjoyment as well as the investment income.

International Homebuyers’ Impact on Florida’s Economy International purchasers of Florida homes have also provide substantial amounts

of liquidity to the housing market, especially during times of uncertainty, according to Florida TaxWatch. Over the last five years, all cash sales have accounted for more than 60 percent of total sales in South Florida. In May, cash sales dropped to 55 percent but remain well above the national average of 30 percent. Nearly 90 percent of international buyers, most of whom are not used to financing properties in their home countries, pay all cash when purchasing real estate in the U.S.

The amount of purchases by internationals in Florida has been substantial in recent years, peaking at 36,152 during the period from 2008-2009. A majority of these purchases were cash transactions at a time when credit was difficult to come by for many Floridians, and others around the globe.

The liquidity provided by international buyers benefits Florida homeowners, banks, and state tax collections, thanks to increased real estate sales, the documentary stamp tax revenues that come with those sales, and the economic impact of the new owners coming into the state.

Additionally, the vast majority of international home buyers do not use Florida’s schools or social services (such as Medicaid and Medicare), and they do not qualify for homestead exemptions, which means that their homes are taxed at full and ad valorem rates.

Where Do Most International Buyers Originate?The report emphasizes that certain variables may affect purchases such as currency controls and devaluation, political stability, and the other country-specific variables. For example, there are often concerns about oil pricing, a great international currency earner of the past for Canada. Given the volatility in oil markets, the Canadian Dollar ($CAD) is heavily affected as worldwide oil prices change.

While Canada had been the foreign country that provided the most purchasers of Florida homes, in 2013 buyers from Latin America and the Caribbean countries as a group were the largest, coming in at slightly more than 32 percent. Canadian buyers from European countries accounted for 26.6 percent. These three groups account for 88.3 percent of the purchases of Florida homes by international buyers.

The top international purchasers of Florida home come from Canada, the U.K., Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, China, Colombia, France, Peru, and Italy. Purchasers from Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, China, Colombia, and Peru have generally been increasing since 2008. Substantial decreases are reported for the U.K., and moderate decreases from Germany have occurred in that span.

Foreign Buyers Expected to Continue to Fuel Florida Housing Market, EconomyFlorida TaxWatch, using a proprietary stochastic forecasting model, expects a continuation of international home purchasing activity in Florida. An estimated more than 60,000 purchases by non-resident internationals are expected to be transacted during the 2014 through 2016 calendar years. These purchases, along with the associated purchases of furniture and other household goods, entertainment spending, and travel will create jobs that employ Floridians.

Top variables impacting international homebuyers include:

Foreign Buyer Income Of the top 10 countries who citizens purchase Florida homes, only the Venezuelan economy is predicted to have negative GDP growth, and that

economy has expected two-year decrease in GDP. The countries that show the most promise for increasing purchase in Florida are Peru and Colombia – both with growing shares of the market. As Brazil returns to higher growth rates in the future one would expect further increases in market share from Brazilians purchasing homes in South Florida.

Exchange Rates The level of the exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar is an important part of the relative price that international purchasers pay for homes in Florida. Both French and German purchasers will benefit from strength in the Euro versus last year, as will the British Pound. The largest losers of purchasing power would be Argentines and Venezuelans who were holding their home currencies and who had not already converted to U.S. dollars.

Political and Economic Uncertainty While difficult to predict, perceived instability in a home country could cause foreign nationals to purchase a Florida home as a portfolio diversification, as a hedge against potential home currency devaluation, or as a place to have secure property rights as a homeowner in the face of rising uncertainty in their home country.

International Visitor Numbers The number of visitors from a country can be an indication of ease of travel to Florida, something very likely important to potential home purchasers.

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Foreign Buyers Strengthen Florida, South Florida Real Estate Market and EconomyInternational Home Buying Activity in Florida Expected to Remain Strong

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A sculpture titled ‘La Gran Funcion’ by Ricardo Pascale at Galeria de Las Misiones in Jose Ignacio, near Punta Del Este, in Uruguay.

MATILDE CAMPODONICO/THE NEW YORK TIMES

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