Robert Michael Rosenberg, 1955 — 2025

Robert Michael Rosenberg, an attorney, arts patron, and artist in Houston, died on January 8, 2025, due to complications related to a chronic illness.

Robert Rosenberg

Mr. Rosenberg was born on March 28, 1955, to parents Leonard Bertram Rosenberg and JoAnn Schultz Rosenberg. He was the middle child among five and a proud third-generation Houstonian. His sister Lynne Siegel spoke with Glasstire and recalled her brother’s fondness of horses. She noted that he owned many horses and as a young man competed in contests and shows like the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show. Participating in these competitions, as well as his experience as a musician, who played the piano, harpsichord, and violin, foreshadowed his proclivity for performance.

Robert Rosenberg, childhood photo. Courtesy of Lynne Siegel

Mr. Rosenberg graduated from Bellaire High School in southwest Houston and went to California for college. He attended Menlo College in Atherton and in 1977 he earned a BA in Asian Studies from Claremont McKenna College. Ultimately, Mr. Rosenberg returned to Houston, where he graduated from the University of Houston Law Center with a Juris Doctor degree in 1980. 

According to the Challam County Bar website, Mr. Rosenberg’s career as an attorney focused on commercial law, including bankruptcy, civil rights, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases, as well as capital and non-capital habeas defense work. Mr. Rosenberg was licensed to practice law in Texas and Washington state. In addition to serving on the boards of the American Civil Liberties Union of Houston and the Texas Human Rights Foundation, Mr. Rosenberg was a volunteer attorney for local nonprofit arts organizations.

Beyond being an advocate for and patron of the arts, Mr. Rosenberg was an active artist. He was perhaps best known for his ongoing performance work as “Chef Bob.” The persona grew out of Mr. Rosenberg’s experience at the Commerce Street Artists Warehouse (CSAW), a space that was established in the mid-1980s by recent University of Houston graduates. At CSAW, Mr. Rosenberg, under the moniker Chef Bob, partnered with Malcolm McDonald and Deborah Moore to create Chez Imbecile, a relational performance work that played out in a fictional restaurant that served Spam. “Chef Bob” was also Mr. Rosenberg’s pen name for a food column in the Public News, a weekly Houston newspaper that ran until 1998.

Nestor Topchy, “Robert Rosenberg”

In 2012, Nestor Topchy received an Idea Fund grant for Archetapas, a collaborative project with Mr. Rosenberg. The duo performed as Gastronanza and hosted interactive public tasting events that explored connections between taste, shape, color, and cultural perspectives. 

Robert Rosenberg, “Parking only for Gay Conversion Therapy”

More recently, in 2018, Mr. Rosenberg gained attention for his satirical piece Parking Only: Gay Conversion Therapy. The 15-foot sign was placed in the Hiram Butler Gallery’s parking lot. At the time, the gallery and a church across the street were in a parking dispute. The gallery was frustrated that visitors to River Pointe Church would fill the gallery’s parking spots. The sign sparked some controversy as some who were unfamiliar with the satirical aspect of the work were offended. The piece was successful in that the pastor of the church offered an apology and stated they would discourage their guests from parking in the gallery’s spaces. 

Mr. Rosenberg’s legacy in the Houston art community is vast. Aside from his art production and his commitment to local nonprofits, he was also a generous person who supported friends and fellow artists in numerous ways. Following the announcement of Mr. Rosenberg’s death several people posted remembrances on his Facebook page. 

Saul Fisher, noted, “We met in a world of fabulous pretense, in which we were both doing performance art under different guises in Houston’s mid-1980s rather off-beat bohemian art scene… He served as a role model, then, on the stage of the Commerce Street Artists’ Warehouse — and as well as a role model of how by day to be a professional… and by night a deep-sea explorer of the dark waters of the fantastical, ironic, and farcical as roiled in the late, late Houston nights. To balance those acts — the professional and artistic pursuits—required a fair amount of youthful energy and commitment…”