1988 in art

	… 1978; 1979; 1980; 1981; 1982; 1983; 1984; ; 1985; 1986; 1987; 1988; 1989; 1990; 1991; ; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1995; 1996; 1997; 1998 …;
	Art; Archaeology; Architecture; Literature; Music; Philosophy; Science; +...

The year 1988 in art involved some significant events and new works.

Events

Opening of the Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in Helsinki, designed by Steven Holl
Donatello's bronze Judith and Holofernes is replaced on the Piazza della Signoria in Florence by a replica and moved inside the Palazzo Vecchio.

31 January – Nedeljko Gvozdenović, a world-renowned Serbian painter (b. 1902).
3 February - Ronald Bladen, American sculptor (b. 1918).
19 March – Isabel Bishop, American painter and graphic artist (b. 1902).
28 March – Neil Williams, American painter (b. 1934).
31 March – Georges Lévis, French comic artist (b. 1924).
2 April – E. Chambré Hardman, Irish-born British photographer (b. 1898).
3 April – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (b. 1907).
17 April
- Toni Frissell, American photographer (b. 1907]).
- Louise Nevelson, Ukrainian-born American artist (b. 1900).
4 May – Stanley Hayter, English-born printmaker (b. 1901).
16 May – Charles Keeping, English illustrator, children's book author and lithographer (b. 1924).
16 June – Andrea Pazienza, Italian comics artist (b. 1956).

12 July – Julian Trevelyan, English printmaker (b. 1910).
12 August – Jean-Michel Basquiat, American artist (b. 1960).
21 August – Ray Eames, American artist and architect (b. 1912).
26 September – Marianne Appel, American mural painter and puppet designer (b. 1913).
29 September – Charles Addams, American cartoonist (b. 1912).
12 November – Primo Conti, Italian Futurist artist (b. 1900).
25 November - Alphaeus Philemon Cole, American portrait artist (b. 1876 [sic.])
2 December – Kimon Evan Marengo, Egyptian-born British cartoonist (b. 1904).
30 December – Isamu Noguchi, Japanese American artist and landscape architect (b. 1904).