Matti Klenell graduated from Konstfack in 1999 and founded his own studio in Stockholm the following year. From 2000 to 2006, he served as Head of Department at Beckmans College of Design.

Klenell was responsible for the redesign of the Nationalmuseum's restaurant interior in Stockholm, furnished with a collection of contemporary Swedish design — a project that included the Ateljé table, produced by Gärsnäs.

His work has received the Elle Decoration International Design Award four times, and he was named Designer of the Year by Residence Magazine in 2018. His work is held in the permanent collections of Nationalmuseum in Stockholm and Röhsska museet in Gothenburg.