About the Gallery

The Merchant of Menace Art Gallery, is located in the historic Village of Marshallton, 3 miles west of downtown West Chester, PA, and specializes in the “re-imagination” of found objects, and reclaimed material into art forms such as furniture, sculpture, and jewelry.

Michael Arizin believes in second acts, not just in life, but in love and in art as well. Michael is in the midst of his own second act, having left the world of finance after thirty years to pursue a long growing love for an art form that speaks to infinite possibilities. The trick to any successful second act of course is injecting a new purpose, a new exuberance to that which conventional wisdom tells us is no longer useful. For Michael, this meant shedding his corporate armor and becoming “The Merchant of Menace”, the purveyor of a new and original form of art, which takes the detritus of our everyday lives and crafts them into wonderfully imaginative and emotionally stirring pieces. From furniture crafted from New England barn wood, to animal sculptures from antique tractor parts, the Merchant of Menace sees the art in them all.

The Re-Imaginers Gallery of the Merchant of Menace is the fitting showplace for these one-of-a-kind art pieces. Itself enjoying a re-energized second act, the one-hundred year old building which houses the Gallery, previously served as a Meeting House, the Town Grange, and a schoolhouse. The art and the Gallery, like the man himself, are living testaments to the possibilities of second acts for all of us. “I am inspired by the vision and creativity of these artists who see the possibilities,” says Michael. In opening the Gallery, he hopes to make the art more accessible and provide a forum for these inventive artists to show their work. “Collectors who choose to make any one of these artworks a part of their own environment will be rewarded daily with a light heart and a broad smile.”