Chloé Bernard  is a multidisciplinary artist and skateboarder from France. See her at the skatepark going fast as lightning and destroying the biggest ramps around, with elegance, attitude and stease most of us can only dream of. On top of that, she’s all smiles! You can see she’s truly in the moment when she skates, because joy flows through her and infects everyone in the session. 

Let’s get to know her a little bit better…

Interview by Letícia Nogueira

Photos by Raisa Abal

It was so lovely to meet you here in Barcelona! How was your trip and what was your favourite part of it?

My trip to Barcelona was really nice. Sun, skateboarding, tapas, meeting friends. My fav part might be the session at Spotter or the Italian restaurant we had for Viktor’s birthday by the house.

You came out here to promote your new sunglasses model for CHPO brand. What other cool collabs have you gotten to do thanks to your art and your skating?

Every time I designed boards, it was like a dream came true for the kid I was once. For example with Cruzade, with Bud Skate Shop…

I can imagine. Designing a board must be a dream for any artist skateboarder. Where would you say skateboarding and art merge together? What do they have in common?

They are both an unspoken way of expressing yourself. An extension of your body and mind. They are outside what you look from the inside.

Tell me about the different kinds of media you express yourself through - murals, paintings, tattoos, painting skateparks... - I know it’s hard to choose, but is there one you especially enjoy?

For a long time, I thought I had to choose between all of them. But I never was able to. It’s scary because you think that maybe when you do too much stuff at the same time, you won’t do it as well as if you were only doing one or two things. But what I understood is, they all relate to each other. They complete each other. For example, when the body is tired, it’s time to move slowly and find your headspace. And when your brain needs to rest, then your body can express itself. It’s all together in one. They feed each other. Like a symphony.

What was your local skatepark growing up? I’m picturing big ramps in the South of France, am I wrong?

Haha! It was a street plaza! La Place Massena, in Nice. Nice flat ground, a 7-stair, 3 blocks. We had no skatepark back then.

You’ve painted a lot of cool stuff around the world, what places have you been to do your art that you never expected to go?

Painting in India or in Hong Kong was pretty surreal to me. So far from home, such a different way of life. It’s amazing to be able to share my paintings with the locals. Art is a language we can all speak, despite any social or cultural differences. That’s the magic of it. In January in Taghazout skate park for example, I thought a lot about how people were going to experience the painting before I did it. I wanted to give them something they would like, as they shared a piece of their home with me.

What advice do you have for contemporary artists to thrive in the art world?

If you want to live from your art I bet the best advice is: think that you will probably never gonna make it, then you killed your ego, then everything that comes after this will be a good surprise. It’s obviously really hard to make a living out of your passion, but hey, life’s hard, so why not struggle for something that makes you feel fulfilled.

Thank you Chloé! What a good approach to have in life. You inspire me. Anything else you’d like to say?

Life is unpredictable, so do what you like to do, love what you like to love and feel loved by anything you want to. There is no other chance. And fight for yourself in order to achieve this. Kill the patriarchy!