Matti Braun is known for the multifaceted nature of his practice, which encompasses painting, photography, textile, and large-scale installation. While his oeuvre is incredibly diverse, Braun has consistently focused on the dynamics of cultural flow, particularly the misunderstandings that often occur during such an exchange. His work examines how the meaning of an object can change as it travels from one culture to another: for example, through the transmission of craft traditions. Braun’s series of silkscreen-printed reproductions of Patola—an expensive, finely woven silk fabric originating in India that was once worn by the aristocracy or adopted for religious purposes—suggests how the original uses of the precious cloth, along with its labor-intensive process of making, become obscured when it is exported. Based on his prior studies of Patola and Javanese Batik textile production techniques, most recently Braun has created works using an experimental dyeing process that results in seamless, lush color progressions across silk panels.

Braun’s work often juggles various historical or cultural references based on extensive research, and they often cite specific objects or individuals including the Japanese modernist oil painter Yorozu Tetsugoro (1885–1927), the Belgian writer Andreas Juste (1918–98) who invented the international language Ido, and Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001), a poet, intellectual, and the first president of Senegal, all figures whose work or theories call attention to the tensions inherent in cross-cultural exchanges. 

Braun was born in Berlin in 1968. He attended the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main and the Braunschweig University of Art. Solo exhibitions of his work have been organized by Kunstmuseum Leichtenstein, Vaduz; Arnolfini, Bristol; Centre d’Art Contemporain, Noisy-Le-Sec; Museum für Moderne und Zeitgenössische Kunst, Bolzano; and Museum Ludwig, Cologne; among others. He has also participated in group exhibitions mounted at the Tate Liverpool; Kadist Art Foundation, Paris; Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba; Espace de L’Art Concret, Mouans-Sartoux; Museum für Moderne und Zeitgenössische Kunst, Bolzano; Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; Leicester City Art Gallery; and many others. He lives and works in Cologne.

TL