About
Matthias Laurenz Graeff (german: Matthias Laurenz Gräff) (* 19 july 1984) is an Austrian-greek academic painter, private historian, political activist and politician.
> FAMILY >
Matthias Laurenz Gräff was born as child of Helmuth Gräff, an academic painter, and Martina Maria Elisabeth Gräff (née Gach), art professor, daughter of the architect Richard Gach (1930-1991). Gräff's paternal ancestors were politically active and religious free thinkers. In 2013, Gräff became chairman of the global Family Association Gräff-Graeff (Familienverband Gräff-Graeff e. V.). Since 2024, the family association has been honoring people who have made outstanding contributions to cultural life with the Letter of honor.
Since 2010, Gräff has been in a civil partnership with Greek-born Georgia Kazantzidu (pontic greek family Kazantzidis), a Webster Vienna Private University graduate, former local politician and journalist, with whom he runs various joint projects. Gräff is Philhellene and the couple live in Gars am Kamp, Austria and Platamon, Greece.
> ART >
Matthias Laurenz Gräff began drawing at a very young age. In 2001, at the age of 17, he began to study illustration and graphic at the private New Design University St. Pölten, and in the following years he took part at the summer academy of Geras of Bernhard Hollemann. From 2002 to 2008 he studied at Wolfgang Herzig's masterclass of painting at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Gräff then studied philosophy with Elisabeth von Samsonow at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. In his artistic work he combines a certain expressionism influenced by pop art with the expression of different genres: historical, political, religious works, urban or rural landscapes, nudes, flower pieces, portraits, interieurs and stilllifes, including painting of vanities.
Matthias Laurenz Gräff is member of the St. Pöltner Künstlerbund (Art union). In 2010, at the 64th annual fair of the Künstlerbund, he received the "Adolf Peschek Preis" (Adolf Peschek Public Award) in the Museum of the City of St. Pölten. Two years later Gräff created the painting for the vine etiquette of the Red Cross in Lower Austria. In 2013, upon the occasion of the celebration of the sister city of his hometown Gars am Kamp, Gars am Inn in Germany, he created the official twin city painting. In 2014, Gräff was commissioned to create three paintings for the vine etiquettes "Garser Wein 2014". A local businessman boycott the publishing of the etiquettes about the illustration of a half naked woman, and this led to a little media scandal in Austria. Two years later, Gräff again received from the mayor's bureau of Gars am Kamp a contract to create three paintings for the vine etiquettes "Garser Wein 2016" (10 years Garser Wein).
In his paintings, Gräff also deals with literary themes, including the implementation of the content of the author Erich Maria Remarque. He participated in large memorial exhibitions in the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Center in Osnabrück. The museum also features paintings by Gräff. His painting “Der Weg zurück" (The Way Back) is also used in books about Remarque published by the University of Osnabrück and the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Center Osnabrück.
Matthias Laurenz Gräff is also active in history painting. His diploma series (Magister artium) from 2007/2008 entitled Weltaussenschau-Weltinnenschau shows a seven-part series of paintings with depictions of historical figures and numerous protagonists of the De Graeff family, mostly from the Dutch Golden Age. In the years that followed, Gräff painted historical characters and circumstances. Various of these paintings have also been used in essays by historians, including Asle Toje, member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and german university professor Ronald G. Asch. In a commissioned work for the Lions Club, Gräff drew portraits of 20th-century pacifists on a life-size lion. It thus serves as a carrier of a humanistic, socially just and ethical attitude.
> HISTORICAL WORK >
As a historian, his research include the families (De) Graeff and Von Graben, Dutch patriciate and nobility, Dutch Golden Age, Holy Roman Empire, Austrian nobility, House of Habsburg and the old Austrian Empire. His publications are disseminated through academic platforms.
> ART AND POLITICS >
Matthias Laurenz Gräff has been working on contemporary images of political and social criticism since 2015, which have been published several times in newspapers, blogs and books on national and international politics. Important topics are anti-fascism, socialism, anti-nationalist and pro-European, He also deals with socio-political issues and critical processes in Austrian society and politics. In relation of the 2019 European Parliament election, Gräff created a pro-European painting in collaboration with the Austrian party NEOS. The Erich Maria Remarque-Friedenszentrum (University of Osnabrück) wrote about Gräff: He consistently represents humanistic, anti-nationalist and pro-European positions both in his art and in various exchange and discussion programs organized by him.
> DIALOG IM KAMPTAL >
Matthias Laurenz Gräff and Georgia Kazantzidu organizes the non-partisan political and diplomatic platform Dialog im Kamptal (Dialogue in Kamptal) in the art studio Gräff - house Kazantzidu in Gars am Kamp. The events aim to inform, exchange and dialogue on relevant political, diplomatic and social issues. Erhard Busek, Wolfgang Brandstetter, Karin Kneissl, Hannes Swoboda, Helmut Brandstätter, Emil Brix, Wolfgang Petritsch, Karl von Habsburg among other, took part in the events.
> POLITICAL WORK >
Matthias Laurenz Gräff has been politically active as a community representative in Gars am Kamp for the Austrian liberal parliamentary party NEOS since 2022. He has been also a candidate for the Lower Austrian state elections in 2023, and here as a candidate for the Waldviertel region and as a top candidate for the Horn district. In 2024 he is one of the pre-candidates for the European elections.
In March 2024 Matthias Laurenz Gräff took over the role of official Representative for Greece for the parliamentary (and governing) party NEOS. The state representatives are part of the state organization NEOS X - International, in which politics is made by and for Austrians abroad. Gräff represents NEOS in Greece both internally and externally. In addition to representing Austrians abroad, this function also includes establishing contacts and cooperation with liberal Greek parties. On February 3, 2025, Gräff also took over the NEOS representation throughout Cyprus as Representative with the same tasks as in Greece (Republic of Cyprus and the unlawful Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus).
