John Paul Morabito

John Paul Morabito is an Assistant Professor of Art and Head of the Textiles Program at Kent State University’s School of Art, part of the College of the Arts. Their practice reimagines tapestry in the digital age, exploring intersections of queerness, ethnicity, and the sacred through weaving as an ontological medium.

Education:

• BFA, Maryland Institute College of Art
• MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Research & Practice: Morabito’s work binds blasphemy, devotion, Catholicism’s incarnational spirit, drag’s decadence, and queer grace into opulent tapestries. They investigate tensions between materiality and digital expression, queering traditional textile practices to interrogate sacred histories and temporalities.

Exhibitions & Collections: Featured in venues like Patricia Sweetow Gallery (Los Angeles), Zhejiang Art Museum (China), and the Center for Craft (NC). Works held in collections such as the Musée des maîtres et artisans du Québec and the Textile Resource Center at SAIC.

Awards:

• 2024 United States Artists Fellow

Prior Experience: Taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2013–2022). Represented by Patricia Sweetow Gallery.