A major new exhibition opening in Pinner is putting drawing centre stage – and showing just how powerful a single line can be.
The Life in a Line opens at the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner Memorial Park on 28 February and runs until 28 June 2026. It brings together an unusually wide mix of artists, from modern masters to contemporary names, all linked by one simple idea: what you can do with a line.
The exhibition includes work by Mr Doodle, Damien Hirst, Alberto Giacometti, Frank Auerbach, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Ronnie Wood and Shane MacGowan, alongside works by Glenn Brown, Jake Chapman, Matthew Collings, George Condo, Zavier Ellis, David Inshaw and Michael Ayrton.
The museum itself has been transformed for the show. As soon as visitors arrive, they are met by a large hand-painted mural by Mr Doodle, covering the entrance walls and windows. Inside, he presents a new series of large works made up of his trademark continuous line, with machine-like figures stretching across canvases and even onto the museum walls. His drawings sit comfortably alongside Heath Robinson’s famous contraptions, as well as rarely seen cartoons of Mr Spodnoodle, shown in public for the first time in decades.
Elsewhere, the mood shifts. A small but intense portrait by Frank Auerbach sits alongside a rare group of ink drawings by Shane MacGowan, offering a more personal and emotional look at drawing as a way of working through ideas and feelings.
The final gallery pulls everything together in a salon-style hang that traces the history of drawing from the late 19th century to the present day. Visitors can see Damien Hirst’s original drawing for For the Love of God, works by Picasso and Matisse, a striking standing figure by Giacometti, original studies by David Inshaw, Andy Warhol portraits and more politically charged pieces by Jake Chapman, Zavier Ellis and Matthew Collings.
Together, the works show drawing as something raw, direct and unfinished — a place where ideas begin, rather than where they are neatly wrapped up.
A private view will take place on Saturday 28 February from 11am to 12pm, with general admission from 12pm to 4pm. The exhibition runs until 28 June 2026. The museum is open Thursday to Sunday, from 11am to 4pm.
Tickets cost £8 for adults. Children under five and Art Fund members go free. Admission includes entry to both The Life in a Line and the museum’s permanent exhibition, with tickets available on the door or to pre-book online.
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