Mati Klarwein was born on 9 April 1932 in Hamburg (Germany). His father was an architect of the Bauhaus and his mother was an opera singer. Of Jewish origin, he spent his childhood in Israel. At the age of 17, he moved to Paris to study painting. Klarwein lived and worked in many countries in Europe, Asia, America and Africa.

He had four children of three women, with whom he lived between New York (1967-83) and Deià (1984-2002). He starred in legendary festivals in Mallorca.

With his psychedelic style, he was the author of numerous album covers, such as Abraxas de Santana and Bitches Brew by Miles Davis. His works have been seen in galleries in the United States, Paris and Spain, with retrospectives in Madrid, Barcelona, Palma and Cadiz. Klarwein produced a series of paintings, under the slogan Improved Paintings, in which he added elements to paintings by other painters.

Some 600 works by Mati Klarwein are known, including landscapes, portraits and paintings from the Improved Paintings series.

On April 26, 2018, the department of Culture of the Consell de Mallorca inaugurated the exhibition Mati Klarwein, la llum del somni in the Centre Cultural La Misericòrdia in Palma.