From the very beginning, his research is based on space and construction planning that gives life to works of great formal rigor, characterized by the integration of drawing, painting and sculpture in a spatial dimension of architectural breath.

In 1959 his first personal exhibition was held in Brescia, at the Galleria Alberti, while the following year it was hosted by the Galleria Colonna in Milan.

During the sixties he develops a style that integrates drawing, painting, sculpture and architecture. In 1965 he took part in the group exhibition La figuration narrative dans l’art contemporain in Paris.

In 1967 he began his collaboration with Studio Marconi in Milan and devoted himself to the creation of works that are a reinterpretation of historical avant-gardes such as Abstractionism, Suprematism, Constructivism and Neoplasticism.

In the seventies he develops in his Architectures the desire to build and found a space through painting, since he believes that this means of expression can immediately produce the idea. His works develop through geometric signs and gestures which, together with a few colors, help him to express the concept of constructiveness.

In 1974, and later in 1993, he participated in the XXVII Biennale of the Palazzo della Permanente in Milan.

In 1981 he was part of two important group exhibitions such as Linee della ricerca artistica in Italia 1960/1980, at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, and Il luogo della forma, at the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona.

In 1984 the University of Parma organized a major anthology for him and two years later he participated with a personal exhibition at the Biennale di Venezia, the Triennale di Milano and the Quadriennale di Roma.

Between the late eighties and early nineties he created the works of the Cinema, Monk and Maschere series, focusing on the use of iron supports. Subsequently, his artistic research focuses on the theme of "Mountain-Sainte Victoire", inspired by the works of Cézanne, and by the cycles entitled Nagjma, inspired by the light and night of Tangier, and Box, works made with cardboard boxes.

In 1998 Palazzo Reale in Milan hosts a personal exhibition of him.

The following year a series of important exhibitions were organized in Germany at the Frankfurter Kunstverein in Frankfurt, the Bochum Museum in Bochum and the Kulturhistorisches Museum in Stralsund, while in 2000 the solo exhibition entitled Homeless was inaugurated at the Giò Marconi Gallery in Milan.

In 2002 the Sheets retrospective held at the Galleria Fumagalli in Bergamo, while in 2003 he exhibited again at the Galleria Giò Marconi with a series of works entitled Danza e Restauro.

During his career he created numerous sculptures for public and private spaces: 1988 Albergo Bellevue, Malcesine (Verona); 1995 General Command of the Guardia di Finanza, Via XX Settembre, Rome; 1996 Costa Vittoria ship, Genoa; 1998 Zanaria House, Rue de Bièvre, Paris; 1999 Soundtrack, SNAM San Donato Milanese (Milan); 2001 Box, Cascina Mangiagruppa Zeme Lomellina (Pavia); 2002 Sheet, ACF Contact Brembate Sopra (Bergamo); 2006 Danza, Piazza Amendola, Milan; 2015 Sprigionamenti, Negombo, Baia di San Montano (Ischia).

Member of the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca since 2008.

He died in Milan on February 2, 2012.

In October 2013, the Associazione Culturale Gianfranco Pardi / Archivio Gianfranco Pardi was established in memory of the artist with the aim of promoting and disseminating his knowledge and figure.