Etienne Cipriani: The Cryptozoological Vivarium

The Cryptozoological Vivarium is the result of Professor Etienne Gisto Cipriani’s meticulous study and exploratory research within the field of speculative biology. Responding to this year’s Sunroom Project Space prompt to de-center humans and challenge speciesism—the discrimination against non-human animals— Cipriani renders the Sun Porch as a zoological environment inhabited by the artist’s definition of cryptid (n.), a species whose primary evolutionary specialization is the active deterrence and evasion of human detection, capture, and extinction.

Eight unique specimens, crafted from a range of materials and rendered to scale, are presented within a diorama constructed from natural materials gathered from the grounds of Wave Hill. Within this setting, each terrarium offers detailed information on the development, behavior, and environmental impact of its inhabitants to provide insight into their mysterious morphologies and elusive natures. Through analytical yet speculative data on the subjects under observation, the artist constructs a complex ecological perspective on evolution, celebrating cryptids as resilient life forms shaped by the threat of human presence.

Public Program: Meet the Artists Hyunjin Park and Etienne Gisto Cipriani on Saturday, June 27, 1PM. In conversation with Wave Hill Curator of Visual Arts Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger, the exhibiting artists will discuss their Sunroom Project Space exhibitions, Jump and The Cryptozoological Vivarium, with a focus on how their works de-center humans and challenge speciesism—the discrimination against non-human animals. Note: artist Hyunjin Park will be participating in this program via Zoom.

Organized by Curator of Visual Arts Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger, the Sunroom Project Space is an open call opportunity for emerging, New York-area artists to develop and exhibit a site-specific project as a solo exhibition. The 2026 applications were reviewed by a panel of arts professionals including Klaudia Ofwona Draber, a curator, Strategy Consultant, Director of Programs at Finnish Cultural Institute in New York, and founder of KODA—a social practice residency for mid-career artists; artist Magdalena Dukiewicz (2025 Sunroom Project Space), whose practice is rooted in processes and materials that explore the intersections of the organic and industrial materials; and Gugelberger.