Jake Beckman grew up in Cleveland Heights Ohio. He graduated from Swarthmore College in Swarthmore Pennsylvania where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Art. His professional experience includes employment at the Cleveland Institute of Art as the Technical Associate in the Sculpture Department. He has a strong interest in the natural sciences and the built environment, which have lead him to take positions both as a researcher in a genetics lab at Case Western School of Medicine and as an assistant to the construction manager at Swarthmore College. He completed his Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island before moving to Philadelphia. He has exhibited his work in northeast Ohio, Rhode Island and New York City, including several group shows at Spaces Gallery and a solo show last spring at The Sculpture Center in Cleveland. His work is included in the collections of the Progressive Corporation and Swarthmore College.