New York artist Chuck Close describes painting portraits 'face blind'

Chuck Close has been painting what he calls "heads" for more than 50 years, without the ability to recognise faces.

The 74-year-old New York artist has a condition called prosopagnosia, or face blindness, but it has not stopped him from painting famous friends such as US president Barack Obama, composer Philip Glass and actor Brad Pitt.

Sasha Koloff caught up with him and curator Terri Sultan ahead of a major exhibition of his work at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.