Jason Freeny was born in 1970 in Silver Spring, Maryland, the son of a sculptor, painter, and fine art professor father and a hippie mother. He grew up with two older sisters. A traumatic incident involving his mother being severely burned in a fire when he was six had a lasting impact on his adolescent years. After his father passed away in 1984, the family moved to Middletown Valley in northwest Maryland.
He was accepted to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where he excelled in prototyping and model building while studying Industrial Design. After leaving college in the early 1990s he worked in a Tribeca-based mural and design studio before finding his footing with MTV Networks, designing props, stage sets, and special event spaces. His editorial work appeared in Penthouse and on the cover of Time Out New York.
He went full-time as an artist in 2006, and in 2007 gained significant attention with Pneumatic Anatomica, depicting the inner anatomical workings of a balloon dog. A series of similar illustrations followed: the Rubber Duck, the Gingerbread Man, well-known toy characters. In 2013 he teamed with Singapore-based Mightyjaxx to produce their first collaboration and has since produced over 400 designer toys. His anatomical Gummi Bear set a tone in the designer toy genre that continues to be referenced by artists and designers worldwide.
He teaches Toy Production at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and continues to create new designs from his Long Island home.
