The head of the textiles program at Kent State University’s School of Art will exhibit his work at Kent State University Museum.

“John Paul Morabito: Madonna dei Femminellə,” includes 14 woven tapestries displayed in the museum’s Higbee Gallery.

The work is from Morabito’s series “Magnificat,” which explores the artist’s identity both as a queer person and as a Catholic Italian American. Morabito adapts the work of Italian old masters into these tapestries woven on a digital jacquard loom. In reimagining these paintings, Morabito incorporates glass beads, which evoke both the splendor of Catholicism and the sensibilities of camp.

In choosing textiles, Morabito explores the status of the art form itself, which has historically been held in lower regard than painting. Morabito refers to these works as tapestries, using the term in a broad sense to describe textiles as artworks, rather than in the more technical definition of a weaving with discontinuous weft. The choice of tapestry as a medium is essential in both creating the desired aesthetic, as well advocating for making visible communities who have struggled to achieve recognition and acceptance.

“It is my great pleasure to share my work with the community here at Kent State University,” according to Morabito. “Our museum and textiles program have contributed to the development and excellence of the fiber arts for many decades – I am honored to be part of that legacy. The tapestries in this exhibition are situated at the edge of many borders to propose a new world. I hope to offer a space where those who have been rejected, cast aside and disavowed might find the divine grace that has been denied to them.”

The exhibition opens Friday and runs through June 22. For more information, go to kent.edu/museum or call 330-672-3450.