Her latest series of paintings concerns the climate crisis and environmental racism and was the subject of a solo exhibition at Perrotin gallery in Paris. A week after the opening in September, Abney flew to New York, where she met with Thompson for the first time. By the end of their 90-minute conversation, which took place at a photography studio near Union Square, they agreed about what it means to make art with a sense of social responsibility and seemed to disagree about what makes a good painting.