Since sliced bread

Ruth Santee gives a second thought to everyday items, like sliced bread. Deconstructed piece by piece in a grid, the nuances of each slice elevates the subject beyond a Wonder Bread afterthought. The artist, who is also the owner of Transmission Gallery in Oakland, paints raw meat, insects and puppets, too, and her light color palette calls to mind Thiebaud’s sweet desserts in their pastel rows; the more one thinks about it, an unglamorous slab of ground chuck seems to have a lot in common with a lineup of ice-cream cones. Double scoops.