A Conversation on Sculptural Land Art

AISM: How did you get your start in horticulture and landscape art?

Wilson: I grew up in San Diego and got my start at fifteen working in a retail plant nursery. Nature came naturally to me, and by seventeen, I had memorized thousands of botanical names, species, and biological profiles, becoming one of the youngest certified nurserymen in California at the time.

Later, while in college, I worked for a landscape contractor. I quickly realized the business side was straightforward, but the creative possibilities were huge. At twenty-three, I launched my own company and spent forty years designing custom, large-scale estate projects for high-net-worth clientele in Silicon Valley.

AISM: What was the design process like with those high-end clients?

Wilson: Most people start with a picture torn from a magazine. They say, "I want exactly this." My challenge was explaining that I work as a creative custom artist, not a catalog copycat.

It’s like Walt Disney trying to explain Disneyland in 1955—people couldn't comprehend an immersive environment until they experienced it. Residential design is similar: the sky's the limit if you have the imagination. My role is to bridge that gap, helping clients move past generic visual references to create something truly pre-existing and integrated into the land.

AISM: That idea of being "rooted in place" is clearly central to your philosophy.

Wilson: Absolutely. Take artificial rock waterfalls or structural earthworks—if every geological layer isn't believable, the whole piece looks phony. It requires structural engineering, soil science, and an eye for natural stratification. Every component has to layer harmoniously, like a slow-cooked recipe.

AISM: How did that lead to your current collection, Rooted in Rust?

Wilson: I’ve always held a deep reverence for history and aged objects. With Rooted in Rust, I take industrial metal relics and discarded regional machinery from Guanajuato and give them a second life by pairing them with living succulents and epiphytes.

Society often dismisses old things—or old machinery—as past their prime. I see a direct parallel in revaluing these oxidized iron relics, restructuring them so people see their beauty and gravity again.

AISM: What makes these botanical sculptures so unique to San Miguel?

Wilson: The climate here allows succulents and epiphytes to thrive effortlessly, but most people just put them in standard ceramic pots. I want to create pieces that defy gravity—plants growing horizontally out of industrial steel, heavy iron springs filled with sphagnum moss and cymbidium orchids, or a nine-foot, 150-kilogram Mesquite trunk suspended on a steel anchor with custom life-support systems for epiphytes.

Beyond the art, the technical foundation is engineered soil. Matching precise, high-porosity potting substrates to specific plant species allows these living relics to acclimate rapidly and thrive for years with minimal maintenance. It’s a synthesis of mechanical engineering, soil science, and living sculpture.

About the Artist: Matt Wilson is a master landscape designer and sculptor operating out of his private studio in Los Lopez, San Miguel de Allende. His current studio collection, Rooted in Rust, pairs regional industrial relics with living botanical engineering. Private studio tours and custom commissions can be arranged via Instagram @58matthewwilson. Whatsapp: +52-415-114-7529

Matt Wilson, in the garden of his studio in San Miguel de Allende.

Contact

Questions or tips? Reach out anytime.

info@artinsanmiguel.com

© 2026. All rights reserved.

Join Art in San Miguel

Stay close to the scene - get fresh stories and event updates.