A new exhibit at the Nordic Heritage Museum features the work of three local Finnish artists who explore their interest in ancient Finnish beliefs of Animism and their personal connection to Finland.

"Kolmenkertainen: Three Times Finnish. The paintings of Peter Juvonen, Diane Lijelund and Matt Timo," opened on Nov. 30 and runs through Feb. 3.

Animism is a religious belief based on a concept of a soul that departs the body after death.

Juvonen was born in in Turku, Finland. With over 25 solo exhibits and 80 group shows, he was become a nationally recognized artist in the U.S. Juvonen works with acrylic on canvas and has been featured in national publications like Art in America and Metropolitan Home. He has received a first place award in painting at the Washington Painting Exhibition and the North West Juried Art. The self-taught artist lives in Port Orchard.

Lijelund is an artist and architect, born to Finnish parents and raised in the Northeast, Canada and Alaska. Her oil paintings and art installations have been exhibited in the U.S. and Europe. Her work is inspired by nature.

"Kolmenkertainen: Three Times Finnish," includes an installation created for the show by Lijelund. The mixed media installation explores the relationship between lightness and weight of her own heritage. By clothing the limbs of a tree carcus, she has given it new life. According to the Nordic Heritage Museum, "in doing so, she provokes us to consider why and how we maintain or release the layers of our past."

Seattle resident Timo has been exhibiting his work in the U.S. and Finland since 1979. "Compelled by the image of an indistinct faceless human figure, Timo is drawn to the elusive, the introspective and the mysterious in his work. Utilizing acrylics, colored pencil and collage, drawing is the element that brings his work together in this exhibit," according to the Nordic Heritage Museum.

Visit http://www.nordicmuseum.org.