Digging itself out from the summer doldrums, the Houston art world kicks into hyperdrive on Saturday for the annual ArtHouston event. Involving 30 galleries, the day-long ArtHouston 2010 is open to the public and free of charge.

If you're already an aficionado, it's the time to catch up with your old crew, and if you're new to the scene, canvassing the contemporary array has never been so easy.

In surveying this year's offerings, a theme of child's play came to the fore. From tawdry depictions of toys to deliberate attempts to appear untrained, a youth aesthetic is finding its voice this summer. Among CultureMap's must-see gals:

Storytelling takes centerstage in the multimedia works on view in the group exhibition Creature Comforts at Anya Tish Gallery. A mythological vein runs through the works via the depicted anthropomorphic and beast-like creatures; the result is an aesthetic that is at once appealing and frightening.

Keep an eye out for the work of recent Lawndale studio residents Dawn Black and Anne Wood. Our pick of the litter is Houston-based artist Mindy Kober, whose gouache paintings interpret fantastical and childlike environments that depict battles between Civil War soldiers and oversized domestic animals.

The Whole Shebang at Hooks-Epstein Galleries spotlights work by Tom D. Duimstra, Mark Fox and Eric Davis. Duimstra's painted assemblages of wood recall Louise Nevelson-era sculpture, but with their bombastic portraits and sarcastic takes on the human form, Fox and Davis are reveling in the irony of the art world.

Two exhibitions are being unveiled at ArtHouston at the Heights' Koelsch Gallery: Tucker Unleashed: Books on a table, lines on a wall and Matt Duffin: Backdrop. Although he never practiced, Duffin's training as an architect is apparent in his depictions of frail structures juxtaposed by inert human and animal forms. Childlike forms also populate the work of W. Tucker, who scribbles with his non-dominant left hand — a sort of self-imposed untrained art technique.

As the city's premier atelier for 20th century masters, Vaughan Christopher Gallery is debuting obscure pieces by one of modernism's most lauded artists: Joan Miró. The prints on view in Joan Miró: Late Career Graphics point to the Surrealist icon's methods in the twilight of his career.

McClain Gallery is touting fresh paintings by Naomie Kremer in the exhibition On Location. Rhythmic layers vibrate off these canvases, hinting at lush landscapes exhibiting a feminine stroke reminiscent of Lee Krasner, combined with the urgency of Italian Futurist Umberto Boccioni. Kremer's world travels, from Cambodia to Mont St. Michel in France, may be traced across the exhibition.

In conjunction with the do I know you exhibition, Inman Gallery will be hosting portrait sittings with artist Heyd Fontenot. Nude modeling is being conducted in a private studio at Isabella Court on a volunteer basis — call 713-526-7800 to show off your assets. The digital images will be drawn as original portraits by Fontenot, to be part of an exhibition at Inman in spring 2011.

Wade Wilson Art is bringing nonagenarian Harold Garde into town for ArtHouston to launch a solo exhibition on the artist. An investigation of the human form is Garde's main occupation — the ensuing relationships to color and compositions speak to an artist who has seen the breakdown of portraiture, from Picasso to Dubuffet, once again brought to the fore at 4411 Montrose.

The current exhibition at John Cleary Gallery, Found: Discoveries of FotoFest and PhotoNOLA is a group show that speaks to director Catherine Couturier's mission of displaying the very best in fine art photography. A stalwart portfolio reviewer at the FotoFest Meeting Place, Couturier has a keen eye that has expertly assembled these 32 meditative prints. EJ Major's work includes ephemera from across adolescence, providing a thoughtful close to the salad days motif of ArtHouston 2010.