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Just outside their studio in the Little Haiti section of Miami, artists Neraldo de la Paz and Alain Guerra would see garbage bins filled with cast-off clothing.

"There are a lot of rag trade places that export clothing to Haiti," said de la Paz.

Rather than watch the apparel be hauled away, the men decided to turn the trash into artistic treasure. The result is 27 pieces in "The Four Seasons," an exhibit now at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood.

The Cuban-born artists collaborate under a single name, Guerra de la Paz, a combination of their last names that in Spanish means War of the Peace. The pair has been working together for eight years and began making sculptures from old clothes in 2001.

Their collaborative works have been on display primarily in Chicago and Miami. "The Four Seasons" marks their first time at the center in Hollywood.

Samantha Salzinger, curator of exhibits at the center, said the show takes up the gallery's three rooms.

"Their pieces are really extraordinary," she said. "The sculptures are very colorful, playful and imaginative."

The centerpiece is four trees, each representing a different season and ranging in height from 2 to 4 feet. Spring is very floral. Summer is green and lush. Autumn is orange, with leaves falling off. Winter is gray, silver and bare.

Each tree is made of used clothing that has been ripped and knotted to a wooden and wire frame. Accompanying landscapes feature discarded objects such as drinking glasses, doorknob covers and ceramic sculptures that de la Paz said were donated by friends.

Other pieces in the exhibit include Fang, a cartoon-looking character made of bikini tops, hair combs, a blouse, feathers and barrettes. Florid is a bouquet of flowers made from girl's socks and leg warmers.

Because each piece involves a lot of labor, Guerra said he and de la Paz spent the past year preparing for the show. The men will discuss their creative process at 7 p.m. Nov. 4. The lecture is free with admission to the center.

The men use unwanted apparel such as sweaters, evening gowns and lingerie that are rejected by the nearby businesses because there is no demand for the clothing in Haiti or it is unsuitable for the tropical climate, said de la Paz.

The secondhand clothes aren't the first time that both artists have used discarded items.

"We like working with just about any found objects," said Guerra, who was raised in Miami and attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. "Right now, it's clothing but we're not just limited to that."

Part of their reason for recycling is to convey an environmental message.

"We want to make people aware of what we throw out and how it affects the Earth," said de la Paz, who was raised in Chicago and has a bachelor's of fine arts from Northern Illinois University.

Materials used in "The Four Seasons" exhibit "would have gone back into the Earth," Guerra said. "It inspired us to simulate nature by creating trees and flowers out of the material."

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