David Hilliard  (American, 1964) 

David Hilliard (American, b.1964) is a Fine Art photographer known for his panoramic photographs. Hilliard was born in Lowell, MA, and received a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art, before going on to earn an MFA from Yale University in Connecticut. Hilliard uses his photographs to speak to the viewer, calling his works visual language.

His photographs are usually triptychs or larger compositions, using vibrantly colored subjects. Panel by panel, Hilliard shifts the focal plane of the subject in his photographs. By doing this, he is able to guide the viewer across the picture. These photographs can be viewed as singular pieces or as a series, much like a film. He often uses physical distance between subjects to illustrate emotional distance to the viewer. Hilliard draws upon his own tensions, fears, and conflicting emotions about his sexuality to deliver photographs that speak universally. He arranges his subjects so that one single photograph can represent the passage of time. One of his better-known works is the four panel Susie Floating (2003), which depicts a woman floating on her back in a pond laden with lily pads. An earlier work, Man at the Mirror (1997), is able to impart the actions of walking into a bathroom and coming to grips with one's self in a mirror using just three panels. Viewed separately, each of these panels speaks on its own. The two-panel work, So it Goes (2009), expresses the fear, pain, and immaturity of teen pregnancy.

Hilliard's works are on display at The Portland Art Museum in Portland, OR, the Stiftung Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, in Dresden, Germany, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville, FL, among others. He is often a visiting lecturer at schools, including Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film in Nashville, TN, and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. He has shown collections both on his own and with other artists. Hilliard's works are available through the Carroll and Sons Gallery in Boston, MA, the Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York, NY, Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta, GA, and the Mark Moore Gallery in Santa Monica, CA.