Deaths
January
- January 1 – Hartmut Ritzerfeld, German neo-Expressive painter (born 1950) [52]
- January 2 – Alexis Smith, American collage artist (born 1949) [53]
- January 4 – Kishin Shinoyama, Japanese photographer (born 1940) [54]
- January 15 – Brent Sikkema, American art dealer (born 1948) [55]
- January 19 – Robert Whitman, American performance artist (born 1935) [56]
- January 19 – Carl Andre, American minimalist artist (born 1935) [57]
- January 26 – Ricardo Pascale, Uruguayan sculptor (born 1942) [58]
- January 27 – Brian Griffin, British photographer (born 1948) [59]
February
- February 4
- Antonio Paolucci, Italian art historian and curator (born 1939) [60]
- Melvin Way, American folk artist (born 1954) [61]
- February 5 – Helga Paris, German photographer (born 1938) [62]
- February 8 – Andrew Crispo, American gallerist (born 1945) [63]
- February 10
- Günter Brus, Austrian painter, performance artist, graphic artist and filmmaker (born 1938) [64]
- A. Ramachandran, Indian painter (born 1935) [65]
- February 16 – Aleš Lamr, Czech visual artist (born 1943) [66]
- February 17 – Marc Pachter, American art curator (born 1943) [67]
- February 28 – Félix Aráuz, Ecuadorian painter (born 1935) [68]
March
- March 1
- Iris Apfel, American designer (born 1921) [69]
- Chance Browne, American cartoonist (born 1948) [70]
- Ennio Calabria, Italian painter and illustrator (born 1937) [71]
- Akira Toriyama, Japanese manga artist (subdural hematoma; born 1955) [72]
- March 6 (death announced) – Pigcasso, painting pig (born 2016) [73]
- March 7 – Lucas Samaras, Greek-born American photographer, sculptor and painter (born 1936) [74]
- March 24
- Robert Moskowitz, American painter (born 1935) [75]
- Imogen Stuart, German-Irish sculptor (born 1927) [76]
- March 26 – Richard Serra, American sculptor (born 1938) [77]
- March 28 – Marian Zazeela, American light artist, designer, calligrapher, and painter (born 1940) [78]
- March 29 – Katsura Funakoshi, Japanese sculptor (born 1951) [79]
- March 30 – Quisqueya Henríquez, Cuban-born Dominican multidisciplinary contemporary artist (born 1951) [80]
April
- April 3 – Gaetano Pesce, Italian architect and designer (born 1939) [81]
- April 6
- April 9 – Patti Astor, underground actress and gallerist (born 1950) [85] [86]
- April 13 – Trina Robbins, American cartoonist (born 1938) [87]
- April 13 – Faith Ringgold, American painter, author, mixed media sculptor, performance artist (born 1930) [88]
- April 16 – Jean-Marie Haessle, French painter (born 1939) [89]
- April 25 – Au Ho-nien, Chinese painter (born 1935) [90]
- April 28 – Zack Norman, actor and art collector (born 1940) [91]
May
- May 4 – Frank Stella, American painter, sculptor, and printmaker (born 1936) [92]
- May 17 – Roberta Marrero, Spanish artist (born 1972) [93]
- May 23
- Sir John Boardman – 96, English archeologist and art historian (born 1927) [94]
- Marc Camille Chaimowicz, French multi-disciplinary artist (born 1946) [95]
June
- June 5 – Ben Vautier (aka Ben), French visual artist (suicide; born 1935) [96]
- June 29 – Jacqueline de Jong, Dutch painter, sculptor, and graphic artist (born 1939) [97]
- June 30 – Manuel Cargaleiro, Portuguese ceramicist and painter (born 1927) [98]
July
- July 1 – June Leaf, American visual artist (born 1929) [99]
- July 4 – Dorothy Lichtenstein, President of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation (born 1939) [100]
- July 10 – Thomas Hoepker, German photographer (born 1936) [101]
- July 12 – Bill Viola, American video artist (born 1951) [102]
- July 17 – Farhad Moshiri, Iranian artist (born 1963) [103]
- July 22 – Germaine Hoffmann, Luxembourgish painter and collage artist (born 1930) [104]
- July 23 – Mark Mallia, Maltese painter and sculptor (born 1965) [105]
August
- August 9 – Keiichi Tanaami, 88, Japanese pop artist [106]
- August 10 – Kasper König, 80, German museum director and curator [107]
- August 11 – Simon Verity, 79, British sculptor and stone carver (Cathedral of Saint John the Divine) (born 1945) [108]
- August 14 – Godawari Dutta, 93, Indian Madhubani painter [109]
- August 15 – Jaime Botín, 88, Spanish art collector and convicted smuggler ( Head of a Young Woman by Pablo Picasso 1906) [110]
- August 21 – David Anfam, 69, British art writer (born 1955) [111]
- August 27 – Leonard Riggio, 83, American art collector (Dia) (born 1941) [112]
- August 29 – Ēvī Upeniece, 99, Latvian sculptor (born 1925) [113]
- August 30 – Hans Danuser, 71, Swiss visual artist and photographer (born 1953) [114]
September
- September 3 – Jacqueline Winsor, 82, Canadian-born American sculptor (born 1941) [115] (death announced on this date)
- September 5 – Derek Boshier, 87, English Pop artist (born 1937) [116]
- September 6 – Rebecca Horn, 80, German visual artist and film director (Buster's Bedroom) (born 1944) [117]
- September 11 – Peter Klashorst, 67, Dutch painter, sculptor, and photographer (born 1957) [118]
- September 16 – Norman Ackroyd, 86, English visual artist (born 1938) [119]
- September 16 – Eikoh Hosoe, 91, Japanese photographer [120]
- September 20 – Valentinas Antanavičius, 88, Lithuanian painter (born 1936) [121]
- September 22 – Ivan Vukadinov, 92, Bulgarian painter (born 1932) (death announced on this date) [122]
- September 26 – Richard Mayhew, 100, American painter, illustrator, and arts educator (born 1924) [123]
October
- October 12 – Lillian Schwartz, 97, American artist (born 1927) [124]
- October 15 – Andrew Stahl, 69 or 70, British painter (born 1954) [125] (death announced on this date)
- October 16 – Patricia Johanson, 84, American environmental artist. [126]
- October 18 – Isabelle de Borchgrave, 78, Belgian sculptor and painter (born 1946) [127] (death announced on this date)
- October 23 – Robert C. Morgan, 81, American art critic and visual artist (born 1943) [128]
- October 24 – Gary Indiana, 74, American art critic (The Village Voice) (born 1950) [129] (death announced on this date)
- October 28 – Paul Morrissey, 86, American film director (cinematic collaborator of Andy Warhol) (born 1938) [130]
- October 30 – Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin, 63, Swedish photographer and artist (Ecce Homo), stomach cancer (borm 1961) [131]
November
- November 6 – Daniel Spoerri, 94, Swiss visual artist and writer (born 1930) [132]
- November 11
- Frank Auerbach, 93, German-British painter (born 1931) [133]
- Walter Dahn, 70, German painter, photographer, and sound artist (born 1954) [134]
- November 15 – Tom Forrestall, 88, Canadian painter (born 1936) [135]
- November 16 – Eunice Parsons, 108, American artist (born 1916) [136]
- November 19 – Vojo Stanić, 100, Montenegrin painter and sculptor (born 1924) [137]
- November 23 – Cynthia Zukas, 93, South African-born Zambian painter (born 1931) [138]
- November 24 – Breyten Breytenbach, 85, South African painter (born 1939) [139]
- November 29 – Rafig Nasirov, 77, Azerbaijani sculptor (born 1947) [140]
