Monica has shown her prints and works on paper at diverse venues, including the Drawings show at the Hayward, the Whitechapel Open and the RK Burt Gallery, Bankside. Her most recent group exhibitions include: Bristol, Spike Island 2009; Originals 10 at the Mall Galleries; Printmakers Council at the Bankside 2010; ‘Lost for Words ‘at UCLH Arts 2012 and ‘Process and Innovation, British Printmaking Japan’ the Kyoto Museum 2012, The Pie Factory in Margate in 2016, Kings College and Regents College London 2018 as part of Art and Reconciliation and at the International Printmaking Biennale in Duoro.

Her most recent solo show was ‘Dissent and Displacement’ at Leicester New Walk Museum in 2020. Before that ‘Indelible Marks’: The Dresden Project Kreuzkirche Gallery in Dresden, Germany and the Herbert Museum, Coventry, UK in 2015 -2016.Her work is held in public collections including the Diocese of Dresden, Murray Edwards (New Hall College), Cambridge, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal College of Art the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry and Leicester New Walk Museum and Art Gallery.A series of six large drawings at Sugar Quay House in London.Work is also held in private collections in the UK, Germany, and the USA.

Monica is the owner and director of Printroom dealing in contemporary printmaking since 2006.  Based from 2006- in Hampstead, Printroom operated online and from a large studio and gallery space in Suffolk from 2016 and at selected Art Fairs until November 2023. It is now only online.

She has selected and curated many exhibitions including the LCC ‘Spirit of London’ in the 1980’s,’Art, Age and Gender and ‘Uncanny Tales’, an FWA / Arts Council Touring exhibition in 1998 and 2004.She was a selector for: 7th British International Mini Print Exhibition 2008; Originals 09; Invited artist selector for Originals 10; Pushing Print in Kent 2010. In 2012 she was the co-curator with Rebecca Salter PRA of a ‘Process and Innovation, British Printmaking Japan’ for the Kyoto Museum.

She was a trustee of the Print Makers Council and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She writes extensively including for Printmaking Today. She talks on printmaking to students and practitioners and was a guest speaker at the Printopolis International Print Symposium in Toronto 2010.

From 1981 -1987, Monica was a lecturer in painting, drawing and art history at the Byam Shaw School of Art, London College of Printing, Epsom College of Art, and the Farnham College of Art. She was visiting lecturer at St. Martin’s, Middlesex, RCA and for the Whitechapel and Saatchi Galleries.

From 1992-2006 she was a director of The Foundation for Women’s Art (FWA), a non-profit organisation that she co-founded in 1992. FWA’s mission was to increase public knowledge and understanding of the work of women artists, both historic and contemporary. FWA had an extensive programme of exhibitions and events educational and community activities, research, and publications over a period of 14 years The work of FWA is currently being digitally archived.

From 2000 – 2007 Monica was an interviewer for the British Library / Tate Archive Artists Lives, ‘Art Professionals’  Oral history project, http://cadensa.bl.uk undertaking life story interviews with curators, critics, dealers and gallery owners. Her interviewees included Annely Juda, Norbert Lynton, John Kasmin and Leslie Waddington.

Monica was an art critic for Time Out from 1979 -1988, including six months full time as art editor. She also contributed to Art Monthly, Artscribe, Artforum, THES, The Democrat, Printmaking Today and many other publications, and wrote several exhibition catalogues. She also worked as a freelance broadcaster on the arts, for BBC programs such as Woman’s Hour, Meridian, and Kaleidoscope. Her most recent work in 2019 has been an interview for the artist Graham Crowley for his retrospective.

From 1992 – 2006 Monica Petzal worked as executive and project director for East City Investments a property company in which she was a shareholder based in London EC1. Her role as client for this company involved commissioning and working with architects on major refurbishment projects. Architecture practices she has worked with include Caruso St. John, Sergison Bates, Alford, Hall, Monaghan and Morris (AHMM), Dow Jones Architects and Studio James Grayley.